STRAWBERRY BANANA STRAIN PAIRED WITH SASSETTI PROSECCO

What inspires millions of people around the world, each year, to fill their glasses and toast high into the air in celebration of the new year?  Bubbles, otherwise known to the ultra-super-elitist Bourgeois as Champagne or Prosecco from Italy, is the most lovely of holiday treats.

Champagne hails, originally, from Champagne, France, but its techniques in wine making go even further back some, 6000 years to former Soviet, Georgia.  Prosecco, Champagne's Italian cousin, is made from and in nine provinces in Italy ranging from the Veneto to Fruili.  In it, there are used, some, nine different varietals that comprise this bubbly goodness that pairs so swimmingly with the latest cannabis strain that I have recently procured.

For my Strawberry Banana Cannabis and Prosecco Review, I have paired this weed with the Sassetti Prosecco Colle Sargento Superior Brut from Valdobbiadene, Italy. Crisp with fine, dry bubbles, this prosecco has a note of, yes, green apple notes, of course, but also has a hint of fresh-picked, young bananas and dry,  mountain, strawberry fruit.  This is a match made in New Year's heaven.

In my Weed and Wine pairing, finding obvious and prominent mountain strawberry fruit notes and hint of banana is exactly what the doctor ordered in this flavor prescription in the strawberry/banana cannabis strain.  The strawberry/banana strain is predominantly indica (70%) with (30%) sativa and has these simply delightful scents of freshly peeled, young and creamy banana(yep, i wrote it - lol) backed by a warm, red berry fruit that reminds of being a kid and finding my first favorite flavors of candy. It is a heavy-hitter that can certainly leave you couch-locked but has just enough sativa for the new year's party scene to keep you super comfortable with a big glass of Sassetti Prosecco well past the midnight hour.  Sassetti Prosecco can be found at your finer boutique wine shops and is a feature on the shelves at Vine and Barrel - 113 Petaluma Blvd North in amazing, Petaluma, California.

Pair these gorgeous holiday treats with fine cheeses or desserts for new year's holiday or toast them high in the air.....double-fisting with doobie in one hand, your Prosecco in the other! It is legal, now!  Do not drink or smoke and drive and enjoy yourself with each of these treats, this holiday season.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

WEED AND WINE - Martin Ranch Zinfandel paired with Blackberry Soda Cannabis

Vine and Barrel Fine Wines

Some of the biggest, most powerful, and rich flavors in wine come from one of California's premiere varietals which we know, today, as Zinfandel. In times of old, Zinfandel, or, Crljenak Kaštelanski - its' true name from Croatia, came to the United States from Italy where they, after stealing it from the Croatians, named it Primitivo.  When the "new" world was settled by Europeans, the Italians brought it over where it has taken root as zinfandel.

One of the finest representations of California's booming Zinfandel market, The JD Hurley selection from the Martin Ranch in Santa Clara, California, is a wine for any dinner table or patio barbecue.  Heavy fruit notes with gorgeous blueberry and loganberry extraction exude throughout the length of each sip of this wine.  Hints of cola and even a little fresh ground coffee, abound, followed by a little black pepper and a slight note of resin from an old college doobie, left on the kitchen table.  Long forgotten are the drier, more subtle fruit notes of the versions of this wine from Croatia and Italy.  Not to discount them - they are outstanding - just very different than ours. California Zinfandel is a big hitter and can reach over 15% in alcohol, no problem.  We have lots of sunshine.   Delectable notes of chewy black fruit and forest floor, a little sandalwood and wonderful acidity render this grape monster a classic and with all this sunshine, I am led to consider another fine product grown under our warm and giving climate:  Blackberry Soda Cannabis.

Pairing a fine cannabis with this beautiful wine was an easy choice. The Blackberry Soda strain lifts enticing, sensual and deep, aromatic blue and blackberry notes up your nose when you first get a whiff.  As you are enjoying the fruity sensation, little highlights of coffee and spice are to follow and the berry and cherry flavors from its' genetics, run deep.  Hints of earth and a faint note of ancient, RC Soda drying in a picnic can in the sun as you hold a nuggie up to your olfactory.  Blackberry Soda shares its roots in both Indica (80%) and Sativa (20%).  It is a cross between the rare, Plushberry and Blackberry Kush strains and harbors some seriously deep genetics.  THC in this dark and purple weed runs between 20-25% and is delicious.  This is a dark, rich production just as the Martin Ranch Zinfandel wine.  Fruity and long in depth with hints of grandma's ripe berry pie and yesterday's coffee grounds, this cannabis is stellar.

In pairing this two California treats, my food recommendation would, certainly be, smoky BBQ.  Whether you are a vegan or omnivore, some grilled veggies or BBQ spareribs would be a fine accompaniment after a pipe full of Blackberry Soda and big glass of Martin Ranch Zinfandel.

You can find Martin Ranch at Vine and Barrel Wines in Petaluma, California and Organicann, just north, in Santa Rosa where there is a steady supply of the lovely, Blackberry Soda Strain.

WEED AND WINE REVIEW

RADIO COTEAU SAVOY CHARDONNAY AND BRUCE BANNER #1

On my latest trip to Mendocino, California, I met with some old friends who are experts in growing cannabis.  When I explained to them that which i was pursuing in my new Weed and Wine Review, they were ecstatic.  They loved the idea and promptly presented me with the very strongest cannabis they had for my first authored piece on these two, very finest products, that are California.

Looking through all the different strains of beautiful, dried, cannabis that this fine couple grew, I knew that as a writer, I would have to discipline myself in focusing on just one champion to reign as the perfect pairing for one of California's premiere chardonnays.  There is, quite simply, a smattering of strains grown all over the world.  Here, before me, were 14 that, alone, this couple grew!

The wine I brought along, Radio-Coteau, is a gorgeous wine that is, truly, representative of the finest that the Anderson Valley and, moreover, California can produce.  Minimal oak brings a pleasant, woody and toasty note that accentuates the crisp, green, apple orchard fruit in its depths.  When I described the oaky, toasty, buttery notes of the wine, they then handed me a pipeful of their selection, Bruce Banner #1.  This was a perfect match.  Piney and woody with a deep dried fruit note of young, green apple and fresh lemon, this strain of cannabis is a splendid partner in this pairing that can only be made in California!   This creamy smooth smoke left a buttery note with a hint of dried tea leaf - much like the mild oak note from the Radio Coteau. 

Bruce Banner #1 is a very special strain of cannabis.  The four times High Times winner, Bruce Banner is an evolution of the Sour Diesel Family and a lovely, sweet strain named, Strawberry Cough.  Sour Diesel is a genetic blend of the most famous strain in the world - OG Kush(Hindu Kush X Chemdog).  Strawberry Cough is a cross between Haze and another lovely, sweet strain named, Strawberry Fields.  It is predominantly sativa and is a very alive and awakening smoke that is better for daytime use.  Paired with some chilled Radio Coteau Chardonnay, the back porch under the cool of a tree can make for a relaxing but social afternoon with your friends chatting up the joke that is today's politics.

The counterpart for this fine herb, Radio Coteau Savoy Chardonnay, is a lovely wine that genuinely represents the cool, coastal climate where its' grapes are farmed.  Warm summer days with drastic cooling from the nearby Pacific ocean provides for lengthy maturation on the vine.  This, in turn, creates incredible depth and nuance and loads of characteristics that we can identify throughout each sip.  A little toke of some deeply flavorful marijuana - God's herb - and the best summer lounge chair just got markedly better!
You can find Radio Coteau at Vine and Barrel in Petaluma and, both, Mercy Wellness in Cotati and Organicann in Santa Rosa carry Bruce Banner #1 ganja.

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