Cannabis Edibles and Drink Review had the opportunity to learn from Alana Burstein about her delectable cannabis infused wines.
CEDR: Alana, can you please share a little bit about how you got into the cannabis industry and specifically wines?
Alana: My whole journey started because I love wine, but unfortunately, I couldn’t drink it the way that a lot of people could. So,I turned that into creativity and set out to create the ultimate non-alcoholic cannabis beverage. It took me three years of traveling from Canada to Colorado to Oregon to Vegas to California to be able to operate in a facility that was legal and meeting the right people who were going to help take my idea and turn it into what it is now.
CEDR: How does Viv&Oak differ from other cannabis infused drinks on the market?
Alana: I believe ours is the best tasting cannabis wine that is on the market. There are multiple segments within the cannabis infused drink space. Some company’s’ brand missions are going after the millennials who are into micro dosing. For instance, there are 1-2mg drinks and they are definitely hitting a sweet spot for those individuals. Another company’s product comes in a liquor inspired bottle. They will add a shot of their beverage and mix it with say a sparkling soda. For us, it’s about the experience of being able to just pour into the glass and have it taste amazing. We’re finding it to be really relatable to our target market, which is women between 35 to 55+. I wanted to mimic that whole wine experience at dinner parties and with girlfriends, you know, celebrating life. It tastes like wine, because it is wine. Our customers are loving us.
CEDR: Can you share a little bit about the different varieties of wine that you make?
Alana: We have a few different varieties of wine The first wine is a Sparkling Rose. We call it a Shimmering Blush and we infuse it with 50mg of thc per bottle. That gives you five servings (glasses) of 10mg each. We also have a Shimmering Blush that’s a 1:1, which is 50mg…25mg thc and 25mg cbd. We also have a Shimmering Scarlett Sparkling Zinfandel. We have different dosing styles for those too, because not everyone consumes the same way.
CEDR: Can you share some insights on the 1:1 versus the straight thc?
Alana: We suggest that our customers start slow. I would tell the consumer to start with the 1:1. It’s my personal favorite. It just makes you feel really good. It gives you that energy, but it doesn’t make you so head high. It makes your overall well-being, clarity and an overall boost of energy, but you can’t really feel it. So that’s why it’s kind of cool.
CEDR: How much does your wine cost?
Alana: The cost is $28 for the Rose and $35 for the Red.
CEDR: Here’s a question that I’ve never really been able to get a clear answer to and I’m hoping maybe you can help me understand. So, you have different strains of cannabis that have different effects. And typically, when you’re seeing cannabis beverages marketed, you don’t see a breakdown into whether it’s made with an Indica, Sativa or Hybrid strain. Can you share a little bit on the relationship between the thc in your wine and the strain?
Alana: We work with a trusted lab that sources our cannabis oil. First and foremost we look for the cleanest oil. We look for properties in the cannabis that relate to being able to spin it into an emulsion that works the best for say a beverage. So when I hear the word Sativa, and Indica, I think to call it Marketing. A true Indica strain is so rare, everything nowadays is interbred. I like to say our cannabis oil is a hybrid strain because it’s an interbred (Indica / Sativa) oil that we use.
CEDR: And given that every plant is unique, and every batch is different, are there differences in how the wine either tastes or what the effect is based upon the oil?
Alana: The effect is always going to be the same when you ingest cannabis oil Indica or Sativa, it doesn’t matter. Once it hits your stomach, it’s going to have the same effect. This is completely different from the effects you feel when you smoke the flower.
CEDR: What is the onset timing for your wines relative to other types of edibles?
Alana:(As a background) I started by making tangy taffy in my kitchen. People loved the taste, but they were over-consuming, and I didn’t want to be responsible for any of that. So that’s where I pivoted and came up with a beverage when I learned that I could get an onset from seven to fifteen minutes of activation, similar to having a glass of wine. It’s similar to having a glass of wine as opposed to taffy or a brownie with a 45-90 minute onset; where you may not know what you’re getting yourself into. The greatly reduced onset time gives somebody a better ability to decide whether they want a second glass.
CEDR: What kind of feedback have you had both from individuals who are new to cannabis as well as folks that have been around block?
Alana: We’re finding that people are just so excited to have non-alcohol products because they want to drink less. They’re open to cannabis and they’re just happy that they can now have an alternative to an alcohol beverage. The feedback has been amazing on taste, design and effect. Also more experienced cannabis users love us so they have options from smoking and edibles. They love us because they don’t drink as much and they love holding a glass and having that wine experience. They like having it on their table and being able to enjoy it with friends and family. It is a conversation piece and people are talking about it and taking that stigma away, because not everybody drinks. So, there’s no one left out of the party and they have choices.
CEDR: How’d you come up with the name Viv&Oak?
Alana: We actually had just “Viv” and then because a large wine distributor already had the word, we had to get creative. So, Viv is “good life”. And then we just put “Oak” as that’s the wood our grapes are fermented in, which takes place in Napa.
CEDR: Where is Viv&Oak sold?
Alana: You can find our wines in dispensaries throughout California.
CEDR: Thanks so much Alana for sharing your incredible story. Please keep us posted on your growth.
