Nation’s ‘First Hemp Winery’ Closes

Confusion surrounding legality has prompted the country’s only hemp-infused winery to close.

Sovereign Vines, based in Johnson City, N.Y., may reopen if the time is right and federal regulations are loosened, CEO Kaelan Castetter said to New York Upstate.

“The last three years have been an amazing journey thanks to you,” the company posted on Facebook. “We successfully relaunched America's only hemp-infused wine and had a blast while doing so. We went to every corner of the State to sample and sell our unique twist on wine picking up loyal supporters along the way. Unfortunately, this is the end of our journey—for now.”

Kaelan’s father, Jim, had the idea to infuse hemp notes in wine back in 1997. He founded the company Hemp Wine America but was shut down by federal regulators in 1999. They revisited the idea in the summer of 2015.

Sovereign Vines wines are blends made from terpenes with grapes sourced from the Finger Lakes and elsewhere. Their collection included a Cayuga White wine, a Harvest Red Blend, Sweet Rose, Oasis Dry Rose, Sweet Cayuga Reserve and a limited-edition Cab Fran. Sovereign Vines still has a state license and inventory to sell, at a discount, but will not produce more wine.

According to the Facebook post, the decision to close follows an audit with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which raised questions about the approval of the formula. In December 2019, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law legislation surrounding the production, processing and sale of hemp and hemp extract in the state.

Read more: New York Farmers Jointly Move Hemp Industry Forward

“[T]he FDA does not intend to allow any sort of hemp extracts in beverages, regardless of the fact our wine has not cannabinoids [sic],” according to the post.

The Castetters started producing wines using hemp sourced from Colorado but later started a sister company, CSG Hemp, to grow and process hemp products. The decision to close the winery does not affect CSG