Is Weedery the Way of Cannabis Things to Come?

Photo by CRYSTALWEED cannabis on Unsplash

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

California has a rich wine production history and is known worldwide for hosting the ideal microclimate for growing, especially vineyards that produce central coast wines. Knowledge of the long growing season that exists in the Central Coast dates back over 200 years – and to this day, many award-winning wines are produced within this region.

The traditional wine-growing state, however, has seen a new entrant — commercial cannabis. Cannabis is not new to California, with the passage of The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64) in 2016 legalizing the commercial and recreational growing of it.

For viticulturists and winemakers, like Truett-Hurst, Inc. THST and The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc. NAPA, who have enjoyed a monopolistic market for centuries, a new agricultural player is proving to be a notable player and economic driver within the space. The question is how will this affect the market? 

The Wine & Weed Symposium, which organizes an annual convention to explore the impact of legalized recreational cannabis on California’s wine industry, allaying the fears of wine businesses, said the cannabis industry is now heavily regulated and will experience tremendous overlaps with legal, financial, compliance and distribution regulations that the wine industry currently adheres to.

The ability of these two industries to co-exist is becoming more apparent and the growth potential of each is something that cannot be ignored.

The wine market size value in 2021 is projected to be $435 billion, while the revenue forecast by 2028 is estimated to be about $686 billion. The global cannabis market, on the other hand, is predicted to be worth $97 billion by 2026.

LiveWire Ergogenics

While many companies are establishing large acreage and high capacity indoor cultivation operations with the aim to produce large quantities of cannabis, there are a few cannabis companies that are taking a different approach with a strict focus on artisanal craft growing guidelines that wine businesses and responsible cannabis cultivators have been advocating for years. 

Since its entry into California, Livewire Ergogenics, Inc. LVVV says it has built a strong relationship and reputation among its wine country neighbors and local and State authorities because of its excellent growing practices.

Livewire states that exceptional terpene profiles, potency, and quality — handcrafted cannabis that meets the increasing demand for artisanal, using organic growing methods, and branded products they can trust — have been its hallmark. The company’s affiliate, Estrella River Farms is developing high-end cannabinoid products under organic guidelines for the health and wellness industry. Unlike other companies that choose to mass-produce indoor products, Estrella River Farms is based purely on sungrown, organic quality under the ideal microclimate in Central California. That is why it has elected to kick off its first cultivation facility on Estrella Ranch, and develop the world’s first Estate Grown Weedery™ in the middle of the beautiful California wine country. 

Estate Grown Weedery

LiveWire manages the Estrella Ranch project, through its affiliate companies Estrella Ranch Partners and Estrella River Farms. The company has begun transforming the property into the world’s first “Estate Grown Weedery'' to cultivate high-end cannabis products following organic guidelines. The Estrella Ranch, surrounded by hundreds of world-renowned vineyards, is being developed by Livewire as the central hub for its operations.

According to Livewire, the team, consisting of experts in environmentally sustainable, sun-grown craft cultivation at Livewire’s Estrella River Farms specializes in state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation practices backed by academia and proven results with a long track record of success. They use a proprietary premium soil blend that is 100% organic living soil. 

This blend uses 60% less water, 50% less fertilizer, and no toxic pesticides, creating an ultra-efficient regenerative plant environment in strict compliance with standard operating procedures established for all operations on the ranch.

The Green Method for Growing?

Cultivating high-quality products, following organic-method guidelines such as the products cultivated on Estrella Ranch, is supported by the effort for the origin and quality identification initiative instigated by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division (CalCannabis). The department is in the process of establishing appellations of origin, including standards, practices, and cultivars applicable to cannabis produced in a specific geographical area in California. The department intends to implement these new standards during the second half of 2021.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.