Cannabis-infused wine is currently a big trend. But you don’t have to spend your money on pricey celebrity-endorsed cannabis wine if you want to check it out for yourself. We show you how you can easily make cannabis-infused wine at home!
Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about cannabis wine. Cannabis-infused wine (canna vine, pot wine) is hitting marijuana establishments like a storm. Seems like everyone is talking about the benefits of cannabis wine, with celebrities such as Melissa Etheridge (who has her own cannabis-infused wine label) raving about cannabis wine in the media. If you want to see for yourself what the hype is all about, how does making your own cannabis-infused wine sound? We show you how to do it!
Interestingly, cannabis-infused wine isn’t really something new. People have infused wine with weed since ancient times. Back then in the olden days, it was quite common for wine to be infused with all kinds of herbs and other additives, and of course cannabis was already a favourite for this purpose even then. Mulled wine, wine that is “spiced up” with herbs and other ingredients, is still quite common, especially in Europe.
What to expect from cannabis-infused wine
There are some things that make pot wine quite interesting when compared to other cannabis consumption methods. The first thing is the taste. Both cannabis and the grapes in wine contain aromatic compounds called terpenes, which give cannabis strains and wine their flavours and aromas. When the terpenes of both come together in canna wine, this makes for a very unique and distinct flavour bouquet unlike any other. So if you want to try something different, cannabis-infused wine can be a nice change for your taste buds!
One other reason why pot wine is now becoming so popular is the effect. The alcohol in wine makes the THC in cannabis have a stronger, yet different effect: “There’s a little flush after the first sip, but then the effect is really cheery, and at the end of the night you sleep really well”. That’s how Melissa Etheridge explains the effect of pot-infused wine.
And lastly, cannabis wine can be an alternative for those who don’t like to smoke and are into other consumption methods like edibles. So these folks can replace their hash brownies with some cannabis wine as an alternative. And of course, what could go better with a fancy dinner than some “spiced up” wine?
We talked about the benefits of cannabis-infused wine and the reasons why so many are currently raving about it. Well, it’s time that we get to the interesting bits: how you can make cannabis wine yourself!
How Long Have People Been Drinking Cannabis-Infused Wine?
Like most things related to marijuana, nailing down the exact date when certain experimentations with the plant first occurred can be difficult to determine. Cannabis has been consumed in a myriad of forms for centuries upon centuries, after all. But thanks to some insightful record keeping from pot lovers of yesteryear, we’ve been able to track a rough timeline of the advent of weed wine.
According to some reports, in the 2nd century A.D., a Chinese surgeon named Hua T’o used cannabis wine as a medicinal anesthetic to help his patients manage pain. Likewise, there are records of marijuana-infused wine consumption in ancient Greece, as well as by early Christians — including Jesus Christ himself if you’re to believe some accounts.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and cannabis legalization laws across the West Coast inspired a new generation of winemakers — especially in the weed and wine mecca of Northern California — to revisit the centuries-old infusion process.
Is Weed Wine Sold at Dispensaries in Legal Weed States?
Yes, but not in the form that you would likely assume.
Since all active, legal marijuana markets currently ban the sale of products that combine alcohol and THC, dispensaries in states like California now offer virgin Merlots and Zinfandels infused with cannabis. Often, the weed wines are made with alcohol, which is later removed to comply with state regulations. For other cannabis vintners, like California’s Rebel Coast Winery, it is easier to use pre-decarboxylated cannabis distillates and infuse the weed extract directly into their alcohol-free wines.
But if you can’t find weed wine in your local dispensary, or are looking for a cannabis wine full of booze and THC, you’ll have to get in the garage and make it yourself.
How Do You Make Weed Wine?
Like we mentioned earlier, there are tons of different ways to make weed wine. And when you’re picking a method for your own homemade batch, it will likely come down to three main variables; access, infrastructure, and time.
First, it depends how much weed you have, and what type of cannabis it is. If you happen to live in Northern California, Colorado, or another cannabis hotspot and have a few pounds of primo dank on hand to spare, it might be worth taking the slow and low route. This would entail investing in some kegs or wine barrels — hence the infrastructure needs — and steeping your pot in a classic wine fermentation process. As the cannabis flower mixes with the grapes and sugar, the fermenting alcohol will extract the THC and other cannabinoids from the flower, eventually reaching a perfect balance. Of course, if you are going to go the professional route, you’ll need anywhere from six months to two years for the barrel aging process, adding a significant delay to your stoney drinking sessions.
For a more cost-conscious DIY method, the folks at Original Weed Recipes have another method that calls for bulk quantities of cannabis stems, trim, or flower, oranges and lemon (instead of grapes), yeast, sugar, and a fermenting and bottling procedure that only requires a few large jugs with caps, some plastic tubing, nylon stockings, and some regular old wine bottles. By mixing the ingredients just right, you’ll get a budget version of weed wine that will still send an insomniac into a deep slumber.
And lastly, if you live in a legal weed state but still want to try your hand at a boozy bud concoction, most legal markets offer some form of decarboxylated THC distillate sold in a syringe or dart that can be easily added directly to a store-bought bottle of wine. You can use this method to infuse a whole bottle or an individual glass, but be wary of dosing, as well as the distillates’ consistency. And also know that you may have to spend significant time stirring to truly infuse the two.
And now that we’ve finished our sommelier-meets-stoner session, it’s time to get those grapes and start soaking, fermenting, and eventually sipping the sweet, sweet fruits of your weed-y labor. Cheers!
My bf and in tried that. We both had like a half of the bottle each. I couldn’t move for like an hour and the only reason I finally did was because his dog decided that was an appropriate time to have a seizure.