Filmmaker and vintner Francis Ford Coppola is jumping on the California cannabis bandwagon, announcing this week that he’s launching a cannabis lifestyle brand called the Grower’s Series. Under it, he’ll sell a limited-edition collection of three different weed strains offering “distinct and memorable experiences.”
“Wine and cannabis are two ancient and bounteous gifts of Mother Nature, linked by great care, terroir and temperateness,” Coppola said in a Nov. 1 press release. “Expertise making one applies to the other.”
Coppola, who has been making wines for around 40 years, said the Grower’s Series plans to educate customers about weed and help them discover what they like. Since wineries are not legally allowed to grow weed, he is partnering with growers in Humboldt County in northern California. Called the Sána Company, his weed enterprise will sell its products online and at dispensaries.
The Oscar winner is not the first winemaker to eye the moneymaking potential of the burgeoning cannabis market: Constellation Brands, which owns many vineyards, recently made a $4 billion investment in Ontario-based Canopy Growth, which is now the world’s largest marijuana company by market cap. In California, Rebel Coast Winery has launched its first weed-infused wine, which is practically alcohol-free.
“Luxury brands and luxury products are definitely a growing part of the cannabis industry,” John Hudak, author of Marijuana: A Short History, told Vice’s Garage in September.
Weed paraphernalia is shaking off its scruffy-stoner image, with cannabis packaging designs rivaling gourmet chocolate. And Quartzy’s Jenni Avins reported last year on a new wave of designers launching beautiful accoutrements to drag weed-smoking out of its tie-dyed past. “Think minimalist ceramics, midcentury ashtrays, and apothecary-style packaging. For some cannabis-curious consumers, good design just might be the ultimate gateway drug,” wrote Avins.
Credit: qz.com
