Cannabis Appellations to Launch in California
Cannabis Producers Take a Page from Wine Growers with Cannabis Appellations – LPC
In a world first, California will sign a bill into law that will create official cannabis appellations. The term, primarily used in the wine industry, is a protected designation to a particular region. For example, no sparkling wine outside of Champagne, France can be called champagne. It’s also similar to Canada’s VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) in Ontario and BC.
“For cannabis growers in California, creating (cannabis) appellations has been a dream,” writes Jackie Bryant for the Wine Enthusiast. (Please see link to full article below.) “Ask any grower in Northern California’s Emerald Triangle, composed of Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties and other mostly rural cannabis-producing areas in its vicinity, and they’ll claim that their cannabis is special. It’s from somewhere, and that’s what makes it unique.”
While the California government will make it official in September, that doesn’t mean its cannabis appellations will become world recognized. That stamp of quality is only as good as other people’s belief in the system. So cannabis growers in the region teamed up with Napa Valley Vintners association (NVV) – the VQA of Napa – to gain credibility.
“Any appellation system that is not robust and meaningful takes away from all appellations systems,” said Rex Stults, NVV vice president of industry relations. “We didn’t want that to happen. So, moving forward, we wanted to offer our input and experience from working within the AVA system since 1981 to help them.”
Cannabis Appellations Need to Enhance Napa’s Image, Not Tarnish – LPC
In others words, the NVV had a very real concern that any cannabis appellations in the Napa area could actually harm its lucrative wine industry. Cannabis in wine country has already been a sore spot for some in California. There is a lot of fear Santa Barbara, which is closer to Los Angeles than Napa. That’s where some of the largest cannabis operations in the world are taking root.
“We don’t want it to take away from what has worked in the wine industry,” Stults said. NVV and the American Viticultural Area (AVA), another US association, are also concerned about how cannabis appellations might impact the Napa Valley name itself.
“From the get-go, we identified appellations as something that would be relevant for cannabis as a specialty product,” said Richard Mendelson, who helped develop the AVA system. “One in which the cultivators believed, just like winegrowers do, that different products and cultivars grown in different locations have different product characteristics.
“That is the essence, really, of what an appellation system is: where the product can express the terroir of the area.”
Did Canada Miss the Boat on Cannabis Appellations?
Curiously, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) suggested a VQA of cannabis back in 2017. That was perhaps for different reasons. But it underlines the fact that there was – or is – an opportunity for similar organizations to spring up in Canada and create cannabis appellations. Cannabis quality has always been a concern for consumers in legalization.
There is still time – and it would be the perfect way to market cannabis without breaking Canada’s strict cannabis marketing rules. Cannabis appellations would give consumers another way to differentiate product, boost craft cannabis sales, and reduce cannabis stigma.
Read the Full Story at the Wine Enthusiast
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