GET OUT

TheMesaTribune.com | @EVTNow /EVTNow

Follow us: @GetOutAZ

Sweet Dreams puts a new twist on wine, cocktails

BY JORDAN ROGERS

AFN Staff Writer

Sweet Dreams Vineyard and founder Bill Gibbs have brought a cutting-edge product to the cannabis industry. As of early 2021, the company released a nonalcoholic, THC-infused red wine and margarita, dubbed “Cannabernet” and “Marijuarita,” respectively.

Both products are sold to anyone over the age 21 at Herbal Wellness Centers, as well as a growing number of dispensaries around the Valley. The cost is in the low to high teens for the 187mL bottle of either Cannabernet or Marijuarita and in the low to high $30s for a 750mL bottle of Cannabernet, depending on the strength. As they are both essentially juices, both products must be refrigerated after opening. “The impetus for this is I’m older, and I love to drink alcohol, but it’s just getting harder and harder for me to do,” Gibbs said. “But I love the social experience of being around people. So that was kind of the impetus about why I did it, it was selfish on my part. I wanted to drink less alcohol, but I didn’t want to change my lifestyle at all.” These beverages also offer fast-acting effects similar to that of an alcohol-based beverage without the hangover. By using nano-emulsification technology, which makes the THC water soluble, the effects are felt in as little as 15 minutes. Cannabernet has half the calories of traditional wine per serving, and the Marijaurita only has 45 calories, which is far fewer than the traditional version of a margarita. Gibbs said keeping his products healthy was at the top of his list for things to accomplish. No stranger to the marijuana industry, Gibbs founded a dispensary called Urban Greenhouse Dispensary in Phoenix in 2012 and served as its CEO until he later sold the company to Harvest Health and Recreation. While he was with the company, Gibbs was at a marijuana convention in 2016 when, for fun, he threw a cannabis label Sweet Dreams Vineyard founder Bill Gibbs has found a unique product that blends the effects of marijuana with the taste of red wine. (Special to AFN) on a bottle of wine. “Just out of a lark, I took a bottle of wine and put a cannabis label on it,” Gibbs said. “I got calls from – and of that convention attracts an international crowd – all over the world, from people going, ‘We’re going to get the wine in my location.’ That was kind of an amazing response. I also literally got probably around 100 emails from people.” After selling that dispensary in 2019, Gibbs took a break from the industry. When he decided to get back into it, he followed up on that response he received at that convention. “I thought there would be a million products out there by that time because at that time, nobody had done it,” he said. “I was surprised to see that there was virtually none.” “You know, we’re close to California. I thought I’d get some (nonalcoholic) wine and put THC in it. There you go; there’s the product.” What Gibbs hadn’t realized is that nonalcoholic wine is not exactly fruitful in the taste department. “It’s not just awful; it’s incredibly terrible,” he said. “You would never want to have it by the glass. I don’t know exactly what causes that, but without the alcohol in there, it really is bad.’” Gibbs hired a sommelier and purchased “every kind of juice known to man.” The two of them, Gibbs said, sat in his kitchen to try and figure out the juice combination that would best mimic the taste of a glass of red wine. After finding the correct combination, Gibbs wasn’t exactly done with the beta stage. He said the “edible experience” is something he did not want his cannabisinfused beverages to mimic, as edibles can be unpredictable and take a long time to take effect. “When I was able to do some research, I realized that this was an issue that the pharmaceutical companies had solved a long time ago to be able to have the active ingredients enter the bloodstream at a much quicker rate,” Gibbs said. “Then, I just went about trying to figure out how to do that.”

Gibbs wanted his product to have the quicker response time that alcohol has – roughly 15 minutes. “With cannabis, it’s been illegal for so long, so there’s no manual,” Gibbs said. “Nobody writes any of this stuff down; it’s not like almost any other industry. If you go into any other industry, there’s long legions of people that have done stuff before.”

After learning about nano-emulsifying technology, he was able to figure out how to correctly utilize it, and he had his finished product. In this case, nano-emulsification converted the THC into something that would allow it to enter the bloodstream faster. Gibbs said the flavor the of the juices serve as a blocker to the bitter taste cannabis brings. Gibbs, however, said he doesn’t want people to expect a perfect flavor profile to a classic Cabernet. “You’re never going to drink that and go, ‘That’s the best Cabernet I’ve ever had,’” he said. “You’re going to say, ‘It’s wine like, and it tastes good.’” “The big reason about why I wanted the alcohol experience, is that it includes the social aspect of it,” he said. “You could bring a bottle of this to a party where you might not be able to bring a joint. This encourages the social aspect, which for alcohol, for me, I think is one of the most important and endearing properties of it.”

Information: sweetdreamsvineyard.

com. 

ACROSS

1 Mimics 5 Satchel 8 Blue hue 12 Tibetan monk 13 Crew tool 14 Galoots 15 Spring flower 17 Marathon fraction 18 Vagrant 19 Nearsighted 21 Pie-in-the-face sound 24 Blueprint 25 San -- Obispo, CA 26 Lose weight 30 Web address 31 April forecasts 32 Pi follower 33 Pained expressions 35 Egyptian deity 36 911 responders 37 Garden statuette 38 Shrimp recipe 41 Gloomy guy 42 Horseback game 43 Record holder? 48 Sharif of “Funny Girl” 49 Melody 50 Long tale 51 Theater award 52 Texter’s chuckle 53 Yon folks

DOWN

1 Jungfrau, for one 2 Standard 3 Brit. record label 4 Brazilian dances 5 Prosperous period 6 Small batteries 7 Glitch makers 8 Candy bar nut 9 Witticism 10 Wrinkled fruit 11 In -- (shortly) 16 Trench 20 Orange veggies 21 Punch 22 Kitten’s sound 23 Leslie Caron film 24 Snoops 26 Strategic 27 Guesser’s words 28 Caprice 29 Proboscis 31 Wheelchair access 34 “Cats” showstopper 35 Demand 37 Wrigley product 38 Espy 39 Lake of Lombardy 40 Arkin or Alda 41 Lass 44 2016 Olympics city 45 “Unh-unh” 46 Census stat 47 Non-clerical

Sudoku

Looking for a “go-to” dessert recipe? You can’t go wrong with this delicious combination of apple pastry, candied walnuts, a drizzle of homemade balsamic reduction served with vanilla ice cream.

It’s a scrumptious culinary puzzle that fits perfectly together. Make it once, and you’ll go to it time and time again, guaranteed. 

With JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Contributor

This go-to dessert will have guests saying ‘more, please’

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator • 6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut in half • 1 cup sugar • 8 TBSP cold butter, diced small • 1 cup apricot jelly • 3TBSP rum

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. 2. Unfold the sheets of puff pastry and cut each sheet into quarters. Place the pastry pieces on the prepared sheet pans and refrigerate while you prepare the apples. 3. Peel and core the apples. Slice the apples in half (from the top of the apple), then slice crosswise in 1/4- inch-thick slices. (8 slices per ½ apple). Place 6 overlapping slices of apples diagonally across each piece of pastry and place a slice of apple on each side. Sprinkle the sugar over all the pastry pieces and dot with the butter. 4. Bake for 40 minutes, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. 5. When the galettes are done, heat the apricot jelly together with the rum and brush the apples and pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the galettes with a metal spatula so they don’t stick to • Vanilla ice cream • Maple balsamic syrup • 7 oz balsamic vinegar • 8 oz. real maple syrup • Candied walnuts • 8 oz. powdered sugar • 8 oz. walnuts • Pinch of salt • 1 TBSP vegetable oil for frying the paper. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of ice cream, walnuts and Maple Balsamic Syrup over top. 6. Make the Balsamic Syrup. In a deep saucepan over medium low heat, bring the balsamic vinegar and maple syrup to a boil and cook until it reaches 230 degrees. Set aside and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. (When cooled, it should be the consistency of honey.) 7. In a pot of boiling water, blanch the walnuts in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain walnuts. 8. Heat the frying oil to 300 degrees. 9. Toss the walnuts in the confectioner’s sugar with a pinch of salt until well coated. 10. Heat a skillet with 1 TBSP oil. Over medium high heat, fry the sugar coated walnuts until a deep golden brown, stirring often. Do not burn walnuts. Allow to cool on a silicone sheet. 11. Place one scoop of ice cream on each apple galette. Sprinkle candied nuts over ice cream and drizzle with balsamic syrup.

Serves 8. 