Mendocino County divided into cannabis appellations

The word “Mendocino” on a cannabis product label may soon carry as much weight as the word “Napa” does on a bottle of wine.

In what is likely the first such endeavor in the country, Mendocino County is being divided into cannabis appellations, or specific regions, for the purpose of protection and promotion of the county’s cannabis.

“Appellations can be really powerful because they can be a means to protect everything from the intellectual property, to the labor force, to the culture and history. They can be very rich vehicles for promotion, protection, and rural development,” said wine legal expert Richard Mendelson.

For the last 30 years, Mendelson has been a key player in the creation of Napa County’s wine appellations, and has been sought after for advice by the group called the Mendocino Appellations Project.

The effort, which began last year, is buoyed by legislation passed in October that redefined cannabis cultivation as agriculture. Under the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, the Department of Food and Agriculture will create state licensing requirements and address environmental concerns. The act also makes it a crime for medical marijuana to be marketed, labeled, or sold as grown in a California county when it was not. The protective rules closely resemble those put in place to protect California’s wine regions, which is regulated at the federal level.

But, unlike wine, marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.

“You have a product coming out of prohibition, essentially. Marijuana growers are caught in a very difficult situation. It’s a bit of a ‘catch-22’. Even though it’s legal at the state level, it’s not legal at the federal level. They can’t operate in the normal way by creating bank accounts and the like. Appellations will help show the legitimacy of what they are doing,” Mendelson said.

Mendocino County is a cannabis grower’s community. Cannabis is in the culture. There are generations of farmers, a heritage, and a history of practices. With the legalization of medical marijuana, and the possibility of authorizing the legal recreational use of marijuana before the voters in November, there has been a lot of talk about big tobacco companies like Marlboro and R.J. Reynolds busting in and buying land and farms, said Justin Calvino of the the Mendocino Appellations Project. There are also concerns about land grabs from individuals outside the area, who pose a threat of diluting Mendocino cannabis.

“Mendocino is the Napa Valley of cannabis. It is by far the most conducive place for outdoor cultivation,” he said. “Mendocino is a growing culture you won’t find anywhere else.”

The project began when Calvino obtained a topographical map of the county, and started talking to growers and others in the industry. After a survey of local farmers last fall, an appellation map was created that now has 11 different micro-regions, based on ecological characteristics of that area, such as the watershed and microclimate, and information from those he talked with.

“Initially, some didn’t understand the concept, but then I also heard a lot of pride from farmers who felt honored and protected belonging to an appellation,” Calvino said.

The current proposed regions are Spyrock-Bell Springs, Covelo-Dos Rios, Long Valley-Branscomb-Leggett, Willits, Comptche, Ukiah Valley, North Mendocino Coast, South Mendocino Coast, Anderson Valley South Mendocino, Potter Valley, and Mountainhouse South Mendocino County.