Amos MwanikiIt may surprise you to discover that cannabis and wine actually pair together incredibly well. This is due to a variety of compounds, chemicals, and substances within each - though namely terpenes which are responsible for aroma and taste.
What gives each of them their flavor
Weed and wine have a lot in common – especially as far as scent and taste. Wine derives its flavors from a wondrous mixture of sugars, yeasts, terpenes, pyrazines, and a lot of other oddly named chemicals and substances. For instance, Botrytis Cinerea is one of these. It is a mold that grows on grapes. This mold is the key to the deep, honey flavor found in Tokaji grapes. Tokaji grapes are one of the many varieties used to create wine.
Marijuana and wine contain the same flavor and scent substances called terpenes. They lend a fruity flavor of the Blueberry Haze strain or the floral note in a Sauvignon Blanc. Terpenes are so abundant in both that over one hundred have been found in weed, and fifty in wine.
Wine, weed, terpenes, and scent
Terpenes are not the only thing that gives a wine or marijuana strain its scent. There are other factors involved. However, Terpenes are responsible for a large amount of the scent that you get from both.
When you inhale the vapors from wine or break open a bud and enjoy the aromas, your senses are reacting to the many shared terpenes of both. The smells can be as intoxicating as the effect of imbibing either substance.
You may have been able to put together that both wine and weed share many of the same aromatic notes, namely: floral, spicy, earthy, herbal, and fruity. There are many more scents that you can use to describe both weed and wine, but I believe they are subtypes of the ones we have already mentioned.
Pairing weed with wine
We now have an idea of the shared aromatic and flavor profiles of both marijuana and wine. We know that some strains share flavors and scents. How do we tie it all together into an enjoyable experience? We need to pair them.
The art of pairing weed and wine happens when you look at multiple factors of each of the two and see how they will work with one another. What sort of weed goes with a Sauvignon Blanc? What wine do you pair with White Widow?
Here is a list of cannabis strains and wines you can pair them with:
Kosher Kush, Himalayan Gold, and White Widow pair well with:
- Pinot Noir
- Syrah
- Grenache
Limoncello Haze, OG Kush, and Tangie pair well with:
- Chardonnay
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Albariño
Bubba Kush, Jack O'Lantern, and Trainwreck pair well with:
- Pinot Gris
- Vermentino
- New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
Rockstar, Northern Lights, and Skywalker OG pair well with:
- Zinfandel
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Petit Sirah
Island Sweet Skunk, Northern Lights, and Skywalker OG pair well with:
- Rose
- Torrontes
- Gewurztraminer
Lavender OG, LA Confidential, and Amnesia Trance pair well with:
- Muscat
- Riesling
- Viognier
- Nebbiolo
Information gathered from TheHerbSomm @ https://www.theherbsomm.com/pairing-guide
Basically, you should be pairing lighter strains with white wines and bolder strains with reds. Doing this will help enhance the qualities of both the weed and the wine.
Wine and buds together
Some people like the idea of wine and weed so much that they are taking it a step further. They are going beyond pairing them, to infusing the weed into the wine. There really is a myriad of different strains of weed and flavors of wine out there. So the idea of infusing weed into wine should eventually produce a pleasant result.
Some have even gone far enough to ferment the weed in the wine. I have never done this personally but I have been seeing rave reviews about the flavor. I guess if you are up for something a little different, you can give it a try.
In California, there is currently cannabis-infused wine being produced and sold on a commercial basis. The general recipe is a bit like this: add some dry buds to fermenting must. Allow the wine and cannabis to ferment for a few months. Strain the wine off of the lees. Bottle it. I mean really that’s it. If you want a truly quality product, I would recommend looking into how to make wine.
Remember this guide is here to get you started. Like with any weed or wine out there, the only way to know if you will like it is to try it. Play around a bit. Try a red with a light strain. Just be safe and don’t go overboard. Maybe you will become the next cannabis/wine connoisseur.
