Sonoma County definitely has a knack for cultivating, brewing, producing, and making three agricultural products extremely well that also happen to pack their own special buzz: wine, craft beer, and cannabis. Throughout the county, there are small and large wineries with equally friendly tasting rooms, countless microbreweries where you can enjoy fresh and limited-release pours, and cannabis manufacturers, dispensaries, and grows.
Cannabis and craft beer have been best buds for a long time. At 101 North Brewing Co. (mymilligram.com)
With the recent legalization of cannabis in California, many canna-curious folks are eager to learn more about our state’s latest green product, whether you’re a California native or just visiting for a weekend, and a longtime cannabis fan or new to knowing the difference between THC and CBD. So why not make a day of exploring and learning about some of Sonoma County’s finest products, which happen to have much more in common than you may realize? Instead of trying to figure out an itinerary of places to visit, and who’s going to be the designated driver, all you have to do is decide if you’re more of a craft beer fan or wine lover, and let The Sonoma County Experience literally drive the bus.
The Sonoma County Experience offers two different all-day tours: a wine tour or a beer tour, and both include cannabis experiences as well. There’s nothing like a local to show you around, and The Sonoma County Experience founder Jared Giammona, a Santa Rosa native, knows the area extremely well, as well as the many producers and players of all three products in the county, plus other industry and insider intel he’ll share throughout the day.
The Sonoma County Experience founder Jared Giammona will say, “Good morning!” with a breakfast beer. (mymilligram.com)
When asked why he started The Sonoma County Experience, Jared says, “I really wanted to help remove the stigma of cannabis by comparing it to other thriving industries in the area, as well as show visitors where I’m from! Sonoma County is home to world-renowned wine country, the microbrewery capital of the U.S., and some of the best cannabis you’ll find in the world, nowhere else produces those three products at the level Sonoma County does. It’s also the new way to visit Wine Country!” Cheers to all of that.
Here’s how the beer experience played out: on a Friday morning, our group met outside a Fisherman’s Wharf hotel, where we were greeted with morning pastries at 8:30am before piling into a luxe Mercedes Benz van (so swank). We had a quick jaunt across the Golden Gate Bridge, with a pitstop at the vista point for some “breakfast beer” from SF’s Standard Deviant Brewing Company, and time for pics of the bridge—it’s a chance for everyone to play tourist.
Melanie King of CannaCraft walking guests though the company’s portfolio of brands and products. (mymilligram.com)
We were then off to Santa Rosa to visit CannaCraft, California’s largest cannabis manufacturer and extraction facility, well-known for their Care by Design (CBD products), AbsoluteXtracts (cannabis oil products), and Satori (chocolate) brands. It’s truly a big operation: we’re talking about a 35,000-square-foot facility and 175 employees.
Guests will experience a terpene-smelling session at CannaCraft. (mymilligram.com)
It was such an informative and interesting tour, offering a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the company and how cannabis is processed into different products. You’ll get an overview of how they make their chocolates in the infusion lab, a peek at supercritical CO2 extraction, a terpene smelling session, and more, with plenty for newbies to learn as well as more than enough for experienced cannabis users to really geek out on. You’ll also hear about CannaCraft’s latest product partnership with Lagunitas to make Hi-Fi Hops (it’s a cannabis-infused hop water that drinks like a beer).
These supercritical CO2 extractors at CannaCraft go through 10,000 pounds of cannabis per month. (mymilligram.com)
It’s worth noting the cannabis portion of the experience is subject to change: you may visit an indoor or outdoor grow instead of CannaCraft, so be sure to inquire with Jared before you book if you care one way or the other. (The beer or wine destinations are also subject to change.)
A visit to the Solful dispensary is as inspiring as it is educational. (mymilligram.com)
Next stop: a trip to the Solful dispensary in Sebastopol, one of the most thoughtfully stocked and welcoming dispensaries in NorCal, with a focus on sun-grown cannabis and high-quality products. Our group met with co-founder Eli Melrod to hear an overview of the dispensary’s backstory and learn about some well-made Cali products. It’s a great place to stock up on the latest and greatest cannabis products, and their team is incredibly educated, so new users with questions are in excellent hands—and be sure to pick up Solful’s excellent informational pamphlet.
You’ll find plenty of crossover jokes between beer and cannabis culture. At Barrel Brothers. (mymilligram.com)
At this point, everyone is a bit hungry, especially if you’ve sampled any wares from Solful (which you will need to discreetly consume offsite). We were brought to Barrel Brothers Brewing Company in Windsor, where we all bellied up to the bar for a tasting while waiting for our Oliver’s Kitchen sandwich boxes to arrive (Jared took all our custom sandwich orders on the drive up—so no worries about having to eat anything you don’t like). There were over 18 to choose from; the Champaderade was my personal favorite, a brut IPA with quite a bit of carbonation, perfect with my Italian combo. You can also get some beers to bring home.
We were also fortunate to have a visit from Sonoma’s Garden Society, a female-owned-and-operated cannabis company who makes cannabis-infused, low-dose gelées and chocolates (we tasted unmedicated versions of their beautiful confections). We got to learn about their sourcing, manufacturing, philosophy, and hear about the state of the industry for artisan manufacturers.
Oh hey, it’s beer o’clock (again!). This time, we were off to 101 North Brewing Co. in Petaluma, where we had a personal tour of the brewery (which will be a bit more engaging if you’re a little elevated). We tasted our way through the taps of their well-made beers, like their Heroine and Indigo—ideal for IPA lovers (and the colorful descriptions and names offer plenty to discuss).
Protesters delay a Google bus in the Mission today. (Photo by Zach Mack)[/caption]
Update 2 Wednesday:Â In Oakland today, another tech bus protest.
Update 1 Wednesday: Opponents of San Francisco’s tech shuttles have lost an environmental appeal to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Late last night, the board voted to go ahead with a program that would allow private employee shuttles to pay for permission to use city bus stops — but only at $1 a stop per day.
The vote was 8-2, with supervisors David Campos and John Avalos voting to oppose rejecting the appeal.
Opponents’ attorney Richard Drury told the board there should be an environmental review first. “You don’t approve a project and then find out what are the impacts by measuring air quality, pedestrian safety risks, after the buses are already out of the gate,” he said.
Opponents are considering filing a lawsuit over the pilot program.
The bus controversy is so intense that master’s candidates have been doing their theses on it. Here’s one from a UC Berkeley student called “The Google Shuttle Effect: Gentrification and San Francisco’s Dot Com Boom 2.0.” And here’s a more recent one from UC Berkeley called “Riding First Class: Impacts of Silicon Valley Shuttles on Commute & Residential Location Choice.”
The latter asked and answered the question: “Does the provision of shuttles and knowledge of shuttle stop locations influence commute mode and residential location choice? In short — yes.”
The data show that nearly half of current shuttle riders would drive alone if the shuttles were not provided, supporting the positive impacts of the shuttles provided, on environmental and congestion reduction goals. On the other hand, since 20% say they would use public transit were theshuttles not available, the shuttles do have an impact on public transit ridership and finances. With regards to residential choices, the data indicate that many are choosing to live farther away from their workplace than they otherwise would. Additionally, 22% of shuttle riders have already moved farther from their jobs since accepting their offer, suggesting that shuttles enable some commuters to live in San Francisco who would otherwise live closer to work.
–Bryan Goebel and Jon Brooks
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SAN FRANCISCO (Bay City News and KQED) — Google played a lot of April Fools’ Day jokes today, but this wasn’t one of them.
Protesters decked out in colorful outfits, some walking on stilts, handed out fake “Gmuni” passes as they blocked a Google commuter bus in the city’s Mission District this morning. (Video from KPIX here.) The action was just the latest in a string of protests against the shuttle service, which to some has become the No. 1Â symbol of gentrification in an increasingly unaffordable San Francisco.
The protest came ahead of a San Francisco Board of Supervisors hearing this afternoon on a pilot program to charge private shuttle buses for using public bus stops.
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Police said they were called around 9 a.m. as a group of 20 to 30 people blocked a private shuttle bus at 24th and Valencia streets.
Officers told the group to disperse and the bus, apparently transporting Google workers, was able to move around 9:15 a.m., police said. No one was arrested or injured during the brief protest.
The Heart of the City Collective, which has been staging protests at tech commuter bus stops throughout the city since December 2013, said on its website that it organized today’s action.
[caption id="attachment_131211" align="aligncenter" width="640"] (Photo by Zach Mack/KQED)[/caption]
In a statement on the protesters’ website, the group wrote, “Let’s take back the city!” and included a list of demands, including the halting of private shuttles from public bus zone use and making Muni free for all residents.
The group called for “tech companies (to) pay for their impact on housing and public infrastructure” and to fund affordable housing initiatives.
A recent phone poll by the Bay Area Council actually showed wide support for the buses in the city. Mother Jones and the Bay Guardian this week questioned the objectivity and accuracy of the poll.
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a hearing today on an appeal of a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency pilot program concerning the shuttle buses, slated to start July 1. (Watch today’s board meeting live at 2 p.m.)
The 18-month program would charge private shuttles $1 per stop to use designated Muni stops. Some opponents have called that a giveaway to rich tech companies like Google, Apple and Facebook.
Opponents appealed the planning process after the SFMTA board of directors approved the program in January with a California Environmental Quality Act exemption.
[caption id="attachment_131212" align="aligncenter" width="640"] (Photo by Zach Mack/KQED)[/caption]
The appellants, including members of Service Employees International Union Local 1021, affordable housing advocates and other community activists, are calling for an environmental review to study the impact of the new shuttle program.
If the board accepts the appeal, the start of the program would be delayed to include a more thorough CEQA review.
This morning’s protesters said in a statement that SFMTA and the city government “will decide if these corporations can continue to use public bus zones for a mere $1 per stop.
“Meanwhile, underfunded Muni is considering a fare hike. Why fund Muni on the backs of poor and working class people while rich corporations use public infrastructure for pennies?” the group wrote.
" data-medium-file="" data-large-file="" class="size-medium wp-image-131201" src="https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/ww2.kqed_.org101-beers-800x533-651e18e5b5fd1ceab51ed549adc12163e15f138a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" />You’ll taste your way through the taps at 101 North Brewing Co. (mymilligram.com)
The ride back to the city can be a bit of a hazy one, depending upon what kind of a blissful combination of Sonoma’s finer products you’re working with. If you take the wine experience, I’d be extra-careful of your consumption since alcohol potentiates the effects of cannabis, and vice versa. (Drink your water.) The wine tour includes visits to Larson Family Winery and Hook & Ladder. A cannabis-only experience is also in the works for 2019.
And to be clear, there is no consumption of cannabis allowed on the tour van, and everyone must be 21 or over. You’ll get back into San Francisco around 5pm or so, depending upon the traffic—overall, it’s a leisurely tour, but Jared will keep everyone on schedule.
The Sonoma County Experience is $199, with all transportation, beer or wine tastings, and lunch included. Any cannabis purchases are up to you—nothing is provided. And like a true Sonoma County resident, Jared donates a portion of all sales to the Northern California Wildfire victims via United Way.
Copyright 2018 KQED