A new wine variety is coming to Sonoma, Calif.
On Tuesday, Rebel Coast Winery released a legal, alcohol-removed, cannabis-infused Sauvignon Blanc that the California-based company will begin distributing this year to dispensaries and residents throughout the state.
“We wanted to excite the rebellious spirit in Americans through innovation,” commented Rebel Coast Co-founder and CEO Chip Forsythe in a press release. “So we took two world-class California products—marijuana and wine—and created a proprietary process that resulted in a delicious, crisp and elegantly crafted Sauvignon Blanc that’s teed up to be a game changer for the wine and cannabis industries.”
According to the release, consumers can feel the effects of the patent pending product, which has 4mg of THC per glass, in as little as 15 minutes. Rebel Coast makes its wines through traditional techniques using Sonoma County grapes. After fermentation, Rebel Coast removes the alcohol from each bottle and infuses 16mg of THC. This process introduces terpenes to the beverage, which gives it a marijuana aroma.
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“Winemakers have been making infused wine for years, but no one developed a reliable method to remove the alcohol and infuse it with cannabis’s active ingredients in a way that wasn’t impacting the quality of the wine, so it appealed to both wine and cannabis aficionados,” commented Rebel Coast co-founder Alex Howe in the release.
The cannabis infused Sauvignon Blanc acts as Rebel Coast’s foray into the cannabis beverage market. The company plans to release a Rosé and champagne, as well as a line of cannabidiol-infused (CBD) beverages within the year. With time, the company wants to expand outside of California to other legal adult-use states and Canada.
Rebel Coast has plans to distribute to more than 500 dispensaries throughout California, according to the release. Green Reef Distributing, a licensed statewide cannabis distributor that also represents national wine and spirit accounts for forthcoming CBD products, will handle the distribution. California consumers 21 and older can pre-order bottles of the Sauvignon Blanc on the company’s website. Bottles are expected to ship in early 2018.
Top image: Courtesy of Rebel Coast Winery
