On a traditionally chilly July evening in San Francisco, a small group gathered at a wine bar for an event that combined the aromas and flavors of wine alongside another one of California’s most celebrated agricultural products: Cannabis.
Tucked in a narrow street near San Francisco’s famed Zuni Café, Hotel Biron is not a hotel, but a wine bar and art gallery. This summer, Hotel Biron joined with certified sommelier and Cannabis author Jamie Evans to take part in her educational series, Terpenes and Tannins. The series, which has also taken place in areas best known for their wine production (such as Napa Valley and Anderson Valley), presents how Cannabis can complement a meal following the road map of wine tastings. At the events, Cannabis and other culinary ingredients are placed in wine glasses for sniffing (and sometimes smoking) as Evans demonstrates how the aromatic and flavorful elements of the world’s most favored flower can enhance the tastes of wine.
“There is this level of connoisseurship when you think about Cannabis,” Evans said to introduce the evening. “When I came into the space, what I thought was interesting was learning about how farmers think about Cannabis. It’s very similar to how a grape farmer thinks about wine, and it’s really about that sense of place and practice. Cannabis does have that sense of terroir.”
As a loyal reader of Leaf Magazines, you likely already know about the gospel of departed hash educator Frenchy Cannoli. But if not, “terroir” is a French word that’s most often associated with wine and the characteristic aromas and flavors created by environmental factors, such as the climate, soil and farming practices. As Cannoli often said, the best Cannabis showcases a sense of place.
Evans approaches enjoying Cannabis in the same way that people appreciate wine at a tasting: meeting the producer, talking about how the products were created and breaking down sensory characteristics like appearance, aromas and flavor balance.
Sampling flowers and fruits
Terpenes are aromatic and flavorful compounds found in plants. Terpenes are in flowers (like Cannabis) and also in fruits (like grapes). Tannins are present in Cannabis, but these chemical compounds play a larger role in red wines and black teas. They taste bitter and make your mouth dry.
For the event in San Francisco, Evans combined a cabernet sauvignon — a grape known for its high tannin content — with a Blueberry Cupcake grown by Sonoma Hills Farm. Blueberry Cupcake is a cross of Blueberry Muffin and Wedding Cake bred by HendRx that’s true to its name in expressing elements of cake batter and blueberries. HendRx reports that its terpene profile includes myrcene, limonene, pinene, beta-caryophyllene, humulene, linalool and guaiol.
Located in Sonoma County, the Cannabis grown at Sonoma Hills Farm originates from a delineated grape growing region, or American Viticultural Area, called the Petaluma Gap.
“She definitely does give blueberries to me,” Joyce Cenali, chief operating officer of Sonoma Hills Farm, said. “She’s one of the ones that you notice in the field immediately when she starts to flower. She goes in a cheese direction as well.”
The proteins and fat in cheese combat the puckering sensations of tannins in wine and have been paired since the early days of winemaking. Because cheese and wine have a long tradition of being coupled, it makes sense that Cannabis strains that express cheesy smells and tastes would go well with a tannic red wine.
Evans explained that the pairing she chose isn’t as tannic as cabernet sauvignons from the Napa Valley. The night’s selection was from Goose Ridge Estate Vineyard located in the Yakima Valley, the first AVA in Washington state. The wine Evans selected for Blueberry Cupcake takes on the berry notes the region is known for, she said.
Clearing the smoke
It’s 2025, and even in states where Cannabis has been legalized, it’s challenging to find venues that are open to hosting weed-themed events. Because smoking Cannabis or tobacco isn’t allowed in bars in California, the tasting in San Francisco involved touching and smelling the weed, but not smoking it.
Hotel Biron’s owner, Ron Ramsubhag, is an organic chemist by day who, in 2024, became the proprietor of the bar he used to patronize.
“A lot of our regulars here, even staff, enjoy (Cannabis), even myself,” Ramsubhag said.
When asked if he was afraid people would start toking up inside, Ramsubhag said the thought had crossed his mind, but that ultimately he knew “it was going to be a fun educational experience.”
“Our regulars that come to the bar, they’re advocates for weed and marijuana and the medical properties that come with it,” he said.
Take flight
The San Francisco tasting event also included Pink Jesus, the signature strain of Sonoma Hills Farm. Pink Jesus is a cross of Pink 2.0, Starfighter and Heirloom OG. Cenali described the Cannabis as having notes of ginger, pink bubblegum, black raspberry and licorice. The primary terpenes in Pink Jesus are ocimene, beta-caryophyllene and humulene, she said.
Evans followed in describing the wine pairing, a cava rosado. The pink sparkling selection was from Spain and is a blend of two types of grapes, garnacha and trepat. Evans described the wine as having notes of cherries and strawberries and the aroma of rose petals. Guests were invited to smell the wine and the Cannabis side by side to evaluate if they could identify any similarities or differences.
“The truth is you can evaluate your Cannabis just like you can wine,” Evans said. “So this is what we’re trying to demonstrate tonight: that you can find different aromas and flavors in different strains. You can almost have like a flight of Cannabis and taste through it just like we do with wine.”
The occasion
When it comes to choosing weed and wine, Evans said pairings come with occasions.
“When you’re out on the beach or you’re enjoying something on a hot day, you’re probably not going to reach for that big Napa cab,” Evans said. “You’re probably going to go for that chilled albariño or like a grüner veltliner or something like that. And I think Cannabis is the same. You think about the occasion that you want to pair with, like how do you want to feel? And then you can customize it that way.”
Thinking of it that way, a full-bodied red wine is the indica of weed. It’s best when you want to relax in the evening. For daytime affairs, Evans recommends going with lighter-bodied white wines and strains that contain terpenes associated with uplifting and energizing effects, such as pinene, which was in the rosemary that was passed around in a wine glass at the Terpenes and Tannins event.
Evans said when you’re in doubt about what wine might work best with your weed selection, go with bubbly.
“I think with bubbles, with sparkling wine especially, it very much cleanses your palate,” Evans said. “You salivate. It’s such a good match, so I always say Champagne or cava, and bubbles and Cannabis is one of my favorite pairings.”
