Wineries Line Up to Explore Infusing Cannabis

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]W[/dropcap]hile wine sales are dwindling nationally, recent research indicates that wineries located in places like Napa Valley, California are increasingly exploring cannabis-infused wines.

Rob McMillan is executive vice president and founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division, and is among the list of wine executives who are curious about the possibility of infusing cannabis.. “Part of the reason that I looked at cannabis this last year was (because) the wine industry is declining in its growth rate over what we’ve seen in prior periods,” McMillan told the Sonoma Index-Tribune.

According to McMillan’s research, about 13 percent of adults consumed cannabis versus 57 percent of adults who use alcohol. But the younger generation is increasingly choosing cannabis, and wine drinkers tend to be older in age. “In order for that 13 percent to affect the 57 percent, pretty much all of them would have had to have been wine consumers and then stopped consuming wine and started consuming cannabis instead,” McMillan added.

Cultivation of cannabis is illegal in Napa Valley, but the crops are typically grown and processed in other areas of the states. Wineries in the area, however, aren’t proposing replacing grape vineyards with cannabis plantations. “Cannabis is never going to take over wine grapes,” said Stephanie Honig of Honig Vineyard. “What we’re proposing is a secondary crop that would occupy very small footprints—and not near grapes—because cannabis would not do well with any sulfur that’s sprayed on grapes.”

One company, TSO Sonoma, obtained a permit from the Bureau of Cannabis Control to host up to 10 events annually. That allows them to have wine-tasting events with glasses of wine paired with gourmet cannabis to compare aroma profiles, body, aftertaste and so forth. Sometimes the events are held in private residences.

For now, wineries, like most other major businesses, are hesitant to infuse wines with THC or CBD because of the federal status of cannabis and the threat of being denied banking services for their companies.