Cannabis-infused wine: soon on our tables?

We had already drawn a parallel between wine and cannabis, We're here to talk about a not-so-new product that's starting to emerge from the secret cellars where it's made. But here we're going to tell you about a not-so-new product that's starting to emerge from the secret cellars where it's made: the cannabis wine, through the portrait of Melissa Etheridge, a medical marijuana activist in the United States.

«Cannabis and wine have been around for hundreds of years,» she says. «But the notion of a cannabis wine industry is fairly recent. Even the idea of ganjapreneurs (cannabis entrepreneurs) is new. We're at the forefront of this notion.»

Melissa Etheridge has leaked her plans to become spokesperson for a range of quality cannabis-infused wine in late 2014, during an appearance on Bloomberg TV. Munchies, Vice's culinary arm, met up with her and got to taste an elixir that Melissa describes as delicious and exceptional, with a slight grassy taste that doesn't change the structure of the wine or overpower the taste of the grape.».

Of course, while selling a product like this might be a first, the blending of these two popular «drugs» is nothing new. Carl Ruck, a professor of classical mythology at Boston University who studies how psychoactive substances have influenced the spiritual development of mankind, readily reports that «ancient wines were always fortified, like the «strong wine» of the Old Testament», a mixture of wine and and opium, datura, belladonna, mandrake or lampane (nicknamed hen weed)... which sometimes incorporated cannabis, given its wide availability and the consumption traditions of the time. »

More recently, this process has become an open secret among cannabis-loving winemakers, particularly in America's wine country, California, where grapes and weed have been accessible since the 1970s. And in light of recent legalization of cannabis in the United States, It was only a matter of time before someone took the next step.

«Up until now, I've been making it for myself and to drink with friends,» reports Lisa Molyneux, a wine producer who has turned to cannabis infusion, and enlisted Melissa Etheridge to help her spread the word around this new trend. «Now I'm more professional in making it. Whereas before I was just grateful that it works so well, with an incredible taste».

The making begins with the purchase of juice from bio-dynamic crops in Central California, just after the grapes are pressed, and transported directly to Lisa's home, where she has oak aging barrels alongside her own production of organically grown, outdoor cannabis, harvested, dried and prepared to coincide with the arrival of the wine.

Lisa won't reveal her recipe, but we can guess from various readings that all you have to do is throw 25 grams of weed into a barrel of fermenting wine, roughly 1.5g per bottle. The better the source material, the better the wine. From here on in, the wine should age like any other wine, and wait for the right moment to go from barrel to bottle.

«As long as the wine stays in the barrel, the cannabis mixes with the brew,» six months to two years according to Lisa. «They do their thing together. And it's lovely.

As cannabis is never heated, cold extraction takes place during fermentation, which means that the unique components of the weed, such as the THC or CBD, are transferred to wine in their acid form (THC-A and CHD-A) and are much less psychoactive than the decarboxylated cannabinoids found in smoked or eaten cannabis.

«Our wine therefore offers benefits of cannabinoids, without the euphoria,» explains Lisa. «Everything works in harmony.

Melissa Etheridge adds that «10 minutes after the first sip, a certain warmth begins to spread», which is more comfortable than intoxicating. In fact, she hopes the wine's deep sweetness will speak to those seeking some form of stress relief, without pushing things too far.

«I've seen people who drink a bottle of wine by themselves, and wake up the next day regretting it, drink only one glass of cannabis wine,» she says. «And they wake up the next day in much better shape. Which to me is really good medicine.

Melissa's penchant for medical marijuana made headlines in 2005 when she went public with her personal story, including how cannabis helped her cope with chemotherapy during her battle with breast cancer. Lisa is also a cancer survivor, one of the two things around which they bonded.

«I started going with her to concerts, hoping she'd get involved in the medical cannabis movement, and maybe raise some money,» Melissa recalls. «It was a pretty slow evolution, but we eventually became friends. And I brought her a case of wine as a gift. Everyone enjoyed it, and that's how things started.

In the beginning, Lisa only made grenache (infused with Bubba Kush and Sour Diesel) and Syrah (infused with Blueberry OG), and also tested a white wine, Marsanne, infused with a blend of Harlequin and Jack Herer.

«Many winemakers make this type of wine for themselves. Most don't dare make it with white wine, for fear it will turn green, but mine ends up with a gorgeous amber honey color.».

This year, she tested blends with Albariño and Chardonnay, and also added two Pinots Noirs to her collection, a Tempranillo and a Cabernet. And she hasn't tasted them yet, as they're still in barrel!

«I'm really a fine gourmet, so I really try to pair them with a good meal,» says Melissa. «I don't think traditional sommeliers would be able to tell the difference between de la Super Silver Haze and Headband before too long. But there's potential. In the meantime, I'd love to include my wine in blind tastings without telling the judges there's cannabis in it, so they're not influenced by tasting it, but of course I can't do that».

From what we're told, the effects of cannabis wine are subtle on the first sip, but more pronounced after several, with characteristic aromas that can be distinguished on the nose. If you want to taste for yourself, just go to California and look for a good winery, or find Mary Jane Wine.