Page 7 - ARUBA TODAY

A7
U.S. NEWS Friday 26 May 2017

Winery or ‘weedery’: Vineyards rip up grapes, switch to pot

GILLIAN FLACCUS under incubators in their or leasing land to private poses and keeping two li- She owns Deer Creek Vine-
Associated Press laundry room, and pride growers. Others are talk- censes with the state, said yards with her husband, but
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. (AP) themselves on a “seed to ing about wine-and-weed Christie Scott, alcohol pro- her pot operation will be
— Bill and Barbara Steele smoke” philosophy. tourism, including high-end gram spokeswoman for called Bryan Family Gar-
moved to this sleepy cor- This year’s crop also is shuttles that would stop at the Oregon Liquor Control dens and will operate on
ner of Oregon to start their land next to the vineyard.
own winery after success- “We want to be as trans-
ful, high-powered business parent as possible because
careers. when you’re under the fed-
Now, more than a decade eral government umbrella
later and with award-win- for your wines, you have to
ning wine to show for their be very, very careful,” Bry-
hard work, they are adding an said.
a new crop: marijuana. She plans to grow several
Oregon’s legalization of hundred marijuana plants
recreational pot two years with a focus on organic cul-
ago created room for en- tivation and an eye toward
trepreneurial cross-polli- a high-end market.
nation in this fertile region They already have some
abutting California’s so- buyers lined up and are
called Emerald Triangle, a installing greenhouses and
well-known nirvana for out- lighting as they await ap-
door weed cultivation. proval of their recreational
Recreational marijuana license. “I get $2,000 a ton
cannot be sold legally in for my pinot gris grapes,
California until next year. Bill and Barbara Steele walk through their vineyard outside Jacksonville, Ore. The Steele’s moved whereas I can make po-
But a few miles north of the to this corner of southwestern Oregon more than a decade ago to produce their own wines and tentially $2,000 or more per
are now turning their attention to small-scale marijuana farming. The legalization of recreational
border in Oregon, a handful marijuana in Oregon two years ago has opened the door for explosive growth in this fertile region pound of cannabis,” Bry-
of winemakers are experi- and a handful of wineries and vineyards are diversifying by investing in the crop. an said. “We have 31,000
menting with pot in hopes (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus) plants out here for grapes,
of increasing their appeal so I’m pretty sure I can
among young consumers for medical use, but the local wineries for tastings Commission, which also li- handle 300 to 500 cannabis
and in niche markets. Steeles are seeing the ben- and at marijuana farms for censes recreational mari- plants.” Mark Wisnovsky, of
“Baby boomers are drinking efits of the expanding mar- glimpses of how pot is pre- juana. Vineyards that grow Valley View Winery in Jack-
less. Millennials are coming ket from legal recreational pared for market. grapes but don’t have a sonville, says some vintners
into their time, economi- pot. Their weed was re- “There are a few wineries liquor license, however, are upset because of the
cally, where in 2016 they viewed alongside one of setting up very large rec- could get a recreational stigma associated with
were the fastest-growing their white wines in Stoner reational grows right now,” marijuana license, she said. marijuana. But his family’s
consumers of wine, both in Magazine, an Oregon can- said Brent Kenyon, of the In the nearby Illinois Valley, winery was the first in the
dollars and volume,” said nabis publication. marijuana consulting busi- Katherine Bryan is tackling Applegate Valley in 1971,
Barbara Steele, who runs “That conversation is possi- ness Kenyon & Associates, these challenges as she and everyone thought they
Cowhorn Vineyard & Gar- ble here because our qual- based in southern Oregon. launches a marijuana busi- were crazy then, too, he
den in rural Jacksonville ity — the agricultural possi- “The ‘weedery’ and the ness with her son. said.q
with her husband. bility — is so high. This is an winery. I think that’s huge,
“They’re looking for an amazing growing region,” and we see it developing.”
experience of ‘wine and Barbara Steele said. But that enthusiasm comes
weed.’” The Steeles leased It’s hard to know exactly with a caveat. Marijuana
their land to grow 30 medi- how many in the wine in- is still federally illegal, and
cal marijuana plants last dustry are looking at pot wineries must keep their
year, and this year they here, but there’s plenty of wine and weed businesses
are growing double that buzz surrounding the sub- separate or risk losing a fed-
amount to be branded ject. eral permit that allows them
with the same label as Some vineyards are ripping to bottle and sell wine.
their wine. They started out portions of grapes in That means establishing
with seeds in plastic cups favor of marijuana plants two distinct lots for tax pur-