A little marijuana in the wine and other food and drink news

The latest craze in wine making: marijuana infused wine - Records of the marijuana plant being utilized for medicinal purposes date back to the 28th century B.C. In China during the second century A.D., archeologists found records showing that the founder of Chinese surgery, Hua T’o, used wine fortified with cannabis resin to reduce pain during surgery. ... Marijuana wine is (somewhat) available and legal in America, and probably will become increasingly so in the years to come. ...

While the exact recipes for the pot-wines of yore aren’t available, a commonly used manufacturing method now is cold-pressed, never heated. It may not have the exact psychotropic effect one would expect. Instead, cannabis acts more like an herb would, adding depth of flavor and structure to wines. Melissa Etheridge, who became an unlikely, vociferous advocate of medical cannabis after going through a bout of chemotherapy, has created a line of pot-wine through Greenway in California, called “No Label.”

Kathy YL Chan and Her Coveted Tea, Never to Be Brewed - A year ago, a member of a private tea society in Shanghai presented Kathy YL Chan with a small box as slender as a cigarette case. Inside were four tiles of highly prized pu-erh tea, conjoined like a chocolate bar and almost black, twined with green and ocher.

An Illustrated Guide To Pairing Wine And Cheese

Alcohol price plans face further delay after European ruling - Plans to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Scotland face further delay, following an initial ruling by Europe's highest court. MSPs passed legislation on 2012 which set a minimum unit price of 50p. But European Court of Justice advocate general Yves Bot said the move risked infringing EU rules on free trade. In an official opinion, he said it would only be legal if it could be shown no other mechanism could deliver the desired public health benefits.