MJBizMag November-December 2020 - 8

FromtheEditor | Kate Lavin
A Sense of Place
W
inemakers use the term terroir to explain the role
location plays in how a wine tastes. The word is
French for " a sense of place, " but in the context of
wine-or any other crop, for that matter-it refers to the soil,
sunlight, humidity and other factors that affect how a finished
product from one region is different from one farmed and
processed under identical conditions in another location.
Farmers across the country have invested millions of
dollars marketing the idea that terroir makes their crops
superior and, hopefully, worthy of a higher price-think
Florida oranges, Georgia peaches and Vermont maple syrup.
In October, California cleared a legal path for the state's
cannabis industry to adopt an appellation system that
would capitalize on the idea of terroir. The California
Department of Agriculture will develop a process for legal
cultivators of sun-grown cannabis to establish appellations
similar to those used by wine growers around the world.
This is great news for marijuana farmers who paid a
premium to buy land in an area known for its extraordinary
conditions and those who have spent years experimenting
with strains to find the best fit for outdoor growing. But the
law invites a new set of challenges as well.
Respecting Your Region
If you have ever called a sparkling wine " Champagne "
without reading the label to confirm the grapes were grown
in the French wine appellation, you are not alone. France
began signing treaties with allies promising not to use the
word Champagne on bottles filled outside of the region as
far back as the 1890s.
The United States didn't sign a wine trade agreement
until 2006, and the results are evident every time an
American uses the word Champagne to refer to all bubbly,
regardless of its origin.
The U.S. agency that oversees the labeling of alcohol
requires proof of provenance for wineries to include
appellation names on their labels. Of course, marijuana is
still federally illegal, and a government agency is unlikely to
devote resources to improving the marketing potential of a
Schedule 1 drug.
So what's to keep a dispensary in Louisiana from selling
an ounce of Mendo Breath grown indoors under LED lights
2,200 miles from Mendocino County? At the moment,
nothing. But California is taking the right steps to protect
the integrity of its agricultural products.
California's appellation law protects outdoor growers, but others
in the industry will need to follow suit
The new California law prohibits license holders from
labeling products with location names that could confuse
consumers. Under the wine-industry model, 75% of a
product must come from a designated area to use the
appellation's name on the label-even as a cultivar name.
California's new cannabis law boosts that mandate to 100%.
Likewise, once marijuana is legal across the United
States, we can expect regulators to reject product labels
referencing outside appellations. That doesn't mean
cultivators outside Mendocino County will have to stop
growing the cultivars Mendo Breath and Mendocino Purps,
but they will likely have to call them something different
when selling to consumers.
The U.S. wine industry made a similar change during
century, which is why you can no longer find an
American Burgundy or Chablis but instead drink pinot noir
and chardonnay.
The process that respects the terroir of wine grapes is
coming for cannabis. And before you cry foul, consider this:
Would you buy a Chianti from Kentucky?
Sincerely,
the 20th
Kate Lavin
Marijuana
Business
Magazine
Editor
8 Marijuana Business Magazine | November-December 2020
MJBizMag November-December 2020

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