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

here 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 TO MAKE CANNABIS-INFUSED WINE

Cannabis wine, especially if you were to get some celebrity branded canna wine from some “boutique dispensary”, won’t be cheap. But you can make it at home and save yourself some nice coin in the process. The good thing here is that wine, or better the alcohol in it, is an excellent extractor for cannabinoids. In other words, wine is just made for being infused with the goodness of weed. Even better, doing it is quite easy.

There are several ways you can infuse wine with cannabis. In the first method, we’re using a DIY “tea bag” for the infusion. For the second method, we’re boiling the wine and the weed to create an extra potent brew. You can try out both methods to see which cannabis wine you like best

METHOD 1: INFUSING YOUR WINE WITH A “TEA BAG”

In this method, we’re infusing the wine right in the bottle with a pouch made from cheesecloth. This is an easy method to infuse all kinds of wine; it just requires that we decarb our weed beforehand. We’ll get to this in a moment.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bottle of dry red or white wine
• 20–25g of your favourite cannabis strain; buds or trim work

HARDWARE

• A baking sheet for decarboxylating (activating) your cannabis
• Tin foil
• Cheesecloth

DIRECTIONS

1. Before infusing, you need to decarb. This process activates the “good parts” in cannabis that give you the desired effects. To do so, crumble your bud into large pieces and wrap the pieces in tin foil. Now, place the wrapped bud pieces onto the baking sheet. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake at 110°C (230°F) for about 45–60 minutes. This is the temperature at which cannabis begins to decarboxylate, converting inactive THCA INTO THC
2. After you have baked your weed for a bit, remove it from the oven and open the tin foil instantly, so any residual moisture can evaporate. Use a grinder or pestle to grind up your buds. The finer you grind up your weed, the easier and faster the extraction process will be.
3. Using either a cheesecloth or pantyhose, create a small pouch to put the decarboxylated buds in; twist, and tie into a knot. Put your weed “tea bag” into the bottle of wine; make sure it is complete submerged in the alcohol. Put the cork back in the bottle.
4. Place the wine bottle with your cannabis infuser in your fridge and let it infuse for about a day. The alcohol in the wine will do the rest and extract all the goodness from your weed. As your wine bottle is sitting in the fridge, it is recommended that you agitate it every few hours for a better extraction.
5. When you’re ready to enjoy your cannabis wine, remove the pouch with the weed. If you just remove the bag, your cannabis-infused wine will not be very potent. But if you wring out the bag and squeeze what’s left in it back into the bottle, your wine will be much more potent.
6. You can now pour yourself a nice glass of chilled cannabis wine! Enjoy!

The Benefits of Cannabis Infused Wine

You’re going to find quite a few benefits from drinking cannabis-infused wine. This includes the recreational aspects as well as the physical aspects.

Pairing. You can enjoy some fun pairings with cannabis-infused wines. Just as you might pair wine with cheese, chocolate, or other foods, you can do the same with cannabis strains. Both grapes and cannabis have aromatic compounds known as terpenes. When they’re combined in the same bottle, it can offer you a distinct flavor bouquet and taste profile.

The Effect. If you’re drinking cannabis wine with alcohol, it makes the THC in the cannabis a bit stronger. It can add a cheerful effect to the wine while also ensuring that you get a good night’s sleep.

Another consumption method. It also provides you with another way to consume marijuana, especially if you’re not a fan of smoking it. If you like edibles, you can shake things up periodically by giving the hash brownies a break and reaching for a glass of cannabis wine.

How to Take the DIY Approach to Marijuana Infused Wine

If you can’t find the marijuana-infused wine that you want to drink or you want to have an alcoholic version that you can’t buy in the US, you can choose to take the DIY approach.

The first way is using a “tea bag” method. You can take 20 to 25 grams of your favorite strain of cannabis and create a pouch made from cheesecloth. Before you start wrapping the cannabis, however, you have to decarb the weed. Crumble the weed in tin foil, wrap it up, and place on a baking sheet in a 230-degree oven for about 45 minutes. Then, grind up the buds. Create the “tea bag” and let it soak into a bottle of wine for at least 24 hours in the fridge.

The second way is to make it in a similar way to mulled wine. In a large saucepan, you’ll pour a bottle of wine, grind up your weed and add it to the wine, and mix in some spices. This includes about a quarter teaspoon each of ground cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Also, add in a full peeled orange. This will help to enhance the flavor of the wine and the cannabis. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and allow it to simmer for two hours. Then, strain the wine with cheesecloth to ensure that there’s no spice or bud residue. Enjoy while it’s warm.

Either way, you’re going to have some potent cannabis wine. Be responsible as you sip your drink!

As marijuana becomes more mainstream, it’s going to get incorporated into more things. Now that it has made its way into wine, you can say that you know more about it.

Learn more about the different ways to enjoy marijuana by contacting Euphoria Wellness of Las Vegas today.