THC-infused wine from Rebel Coast Winery tempted me as a genius innovation, so I picked up a bottle from March and Ash.
The alcohol content is 0.5% alcohol, compared to 9-15% for traditional wine. This lends Rebel Coast the ambiance of wine, without the alcohol, calories or hangover. The base product is a fermented Sonoma wine – maybe a sauvignon blanc – with the alcohol removed because California does not permit the sale of a product with alcohol and THC. However, anyone who abstains from alcohol should not consume this, as there are trace amounts.
Tasting notes and effects
It turns out that wine without the alcohol tastes like grape juice. Duh? I don’t know why I was surprised! I wouldn’t gift this to your favorite wine snob… I got hints of more-complex flavors, but the fundamental tannin and acidity were missing, leaving mostly sweetness and a little body. There are plenty out there who will be glad to forgo that along with the alcohol, calories, and hangover!
The bottle has four 10mg-THC servings of sativa wine. I had two servings, equal to half a bottle, which is as much as I would have of a traditional wine (but it only cost me 100 calories). The psychoactive effects of 20mg THC of this cannabis wine were mild, fairly well along the lines of two glasses of alcoholic wine. Other 20mg edibles have hit me harder, but I considered this ideal. I wouldn’t take a 20mg Kushy Punch edible socially; I’d plan to surf my couch. Rebel Coast’s wine left me in an engaged and social state.
Consumption and pairing
To experience the full ambiance of wine, it’s best served with complementary food. I made an easy Italian sausage and white bean skillet. Pork and white beans paired well enough with the Rebel Coast Wine. I was a little concerned about the hot sausage – I like a little heat – but the muted tannins prevented a conflict. Yes, food in your stomach will slightly increase the time it takes to feel the effects, but slowing down digestion just a little bit will actually allow you to absorb a little more of the THC (and other cannabinoids).
I also made a strategic choice to eat a meal with saturated fat. According to HelloMD, “When a person eats a cannabis edible that contains a high-fat ingredient or has a relatively high-fat meal along with eating a marijuana edible, these fats appear to stimulate activity in the intestinal lymphatic system. In this way, the compounds that are dissolved in fats are transported into the bloodstream by this secondary lymphatic system and made available to the body.” Whether you are enjoying Rebel Coasts wine or any other edible, a little extra saturated fat will improve the bioavailability of the THC by as much as two-and-a-half times, according to some estimates. The health-conscious are welcome to choose healthier fats, like avocado, olives or nuts. And this wouldn’t be necessary with cannabis-infused chocolate, cookies, or other edibles where the THC is already dissolved into butter, oil or another cooking fat.
