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Cannabis-Infused Wine Comes to California in 2018

By Aaron G. Biros
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Rebel Coast Winery announced this week the launch of the world’s first cannabis-infused, alcohol-removed wine. The company’s THC-infused Sauvignon Blanc, available only in California, will hit dispensary shelves in 2018.

Co-founders Alex Howe and Chip Forsythe

According to the press release, they plan to be fully compliant with California’s new regulations for the cannabis industry, hence the lack of alcohol in the product, which is a requirement under the state’s new manufacturing rules. “Rebel Coast’s grapes are grown in Sonoma County – California’s wine capital – and fermented through a traditional winemaking process,” reads the press release. “Rebel Coast removes the wine’s alcohol and infuses each bottle of its premium Sauvignon Blanc with 16 milligrams of organic tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)…” In addition to the THC infusion, they also add terpenes to the final product, giving it the cannabis fragrance.

According to Alex Howe, co-founder of Rebel Coast, the winery is in Sonoma, but they’re waiting to see where they’ll be licensed to extract, infuse and package the final product. “The winery is in Sonoma, we make the wine, and remove the alcohol there,” says Howe. “We’re currently waiting for licensing transfer approval in two locations, one in San Bernardino, the other West Sacramento, and exploring an option to infuse in San Benito County with a currently licensed location.” They plan to co-package under a third party license and seek a Type N license for extraction with non-volatile solvents.

Rebel Coast has partnered with a fully licensed outdoor grower, and is looking for an extractor that will be able to handle their volume needs. With regard to their infusion and extraction process, Howe says they combine clear distillate with a surfactant to make the THC liquid soluble and fast acting.

He expects the full infusion and packaging operations to be up and running by early 2018. “The San Bernardino and West Sacramento locations were previously licensed for infusion, packaging, and manufacturing, but with purchase of the building, the change in ownership has caused us to wait for the license to change ownerships too.”

“We’ve continued our disruptive approach to craft the world’s first cannabis-infused, alcohol-free wine,” says Chip Forsythe, co-founder and chief executive officer of Rebel Coast. “We wanted to excite the rebellious spirit in Americans through innovation, 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.”

They plan to start shipping product in early 2018, as well as distribute to over 500 dispensaries throughout the state, via Green Reef Distributing, a licensed cannabis distributor that represents wine and spirit accounts for other CBD products. Later in 2018, Rebel Coast plans on rolling out cannabis-infused Rosé and champagne, as well as CBD-infused wines. In the press release the company teases their products will be available in other legal states in the coming months.

Digipath Expands To California

By Aaron G. Biros
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In July, we sat down with the folks at Digipath, Inc. when they received their testing license in Nevada for the adult use market. In that conversation, they mentioned they were looking to expand into California.

According to a press release published September 25th, DigiPath, Inc. has entered a joint venture to establish their first cannabis-testing lab in California. They will be working with Don Ashley, an experienced real estate developer and cannabis entrepreneur, to launch Humboldt Botanical, LLC, conducting business under the name “Digipath Botanical Testing”.

Ashley says they expect to be fully operational by Q1 of 2018. “We expect to break ground on this project in the next few weeks and hope to be operational in early Q1 2018 just after the state-wide adult-use market is expected to launch, as we have already obtained approval from the local planning authorities for the entire complex,” says Ashley.

Todd Denkin, founder and president of Digipath

Todd Denkin, president of Digipath, is optimistic for California’s market and the coming regulations. “The state of California is estimated to be the single largest cannabis market in the U.S. Adult-use cannabis legislation was approved by California residents last November, and we expect these new regulations to be implemented in 2018,” says Denkin. “The good news for the industry is that the requirements for cannabis testing will be significant, and we are excited to partner with Don and his team to pursue this opportunity in Humboldt County.”

Ashley is contributing roughly $2 million to build and equip the lab with instrumentation, while Digipath Labs will manage and supervise operations at the lab. According to the press release, Digipath will provide a non-exclusive license to use its intellectual property for the operation of the lab. Digipath Labs will retain rights over all the scientific data generated in the lab.

Cindy Orser, PhD., chief science officer at Digipath

According to Cindy Orser, PhD., chief science officer at Digipath, that data will be put to good use. “Digipath Labs has developed an algorithm for use in strain authentication based largely on terpene profiling from our testing lab in Nevada and we are eager to further test our hypothesis with an expanded dataset from cannabis grown in Northern California,” says Orser.

While testing labs are primarily seen as safeguards for public health and safety, using data to correctly identify strains is a relatively new concept. “Digipath Labs is all about public health and safety through testing for adulterants,” says Orser. “Another component to quality is having confidence in product authenticity at the dispensary level. Not only is the consumer buying quality assured products but truth in advertising when it comes to strain nomenclature.”

Denkin says they were proactive in working toward getting the license early on. “Our partners have been dealing with the local regulators while we have been providing the proper SOP’s for the local government in order to receive the proper licensure in the area,” says Denkin. Taking their experience from Nevada to California, Orser says they have been asked to present to the California Toxicology Association on their experience with cannabis testing in the highly regulated marketplace of Nevada.

The laboratory in Humboldt is going to be part of a “cannabis industrial park,” alongside an R&D facility, oils/concentrate manufacturing center, health and wellness center, distribution and processing facility, tissue culture nursery, hemp clothing outlet, and coffee bistro, according to the press release.

Looking forward to growing their business, Denkin says they hope to launch a lab in Southern California. “We do expect to have a larger footprint in California because of the size of the market and are looking for locations in Southern California as well,” says Denkin. When asked about any new plans to expand elsewhere, Denkin says they’ll let us know. “We are continuing with our business plan and actively seeking the right mergers and acquisitions. Stay tuned.”