Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/522996
34 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2015 grow CANNABIS LEGALIZATION IS OPENING NEW MARKETS ACROSS THE U.S., but the legislative trend of only allowing cultivation on a massive, indoor scale stands in the face of California's cannabis farming heritage and the artisanal, world-class hash- ish it produces. The Golden State broke new ground in 1996 when it allowed for the medical "gray" market to begin, but Northern California farmers were breeding the world's top strains well before then. Cannabis has been grown in the Emerald Triangle—which includes Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties—for over 50 years, according to Kevin Jodrey, internation - ally recognized cultivation expert and Cultivation Director at Humboldt's Wonderland Nursery. In that time, the region developed a worldwide reputa- tion for high-quality product and top genetics. Due to cannabis's illicit nature and the remote locations involved, farmers kept their cultivation best practices and genetics secret. Now, these second- and third- generation farmers are coming out from the shadows to protect their heritage against the current trend of large corporations controlling cannabis production. Specifically, heritage farmers seek to preserve the terroir that makes their cannabis unique, and connois - seur producers of value-added products like hashish support that goal, says Frenchy Cannoli, hashish expert and "Hashishin" for House of Aficionado. The Emerald Triangle terroir is unique; aside from a high biodiversity, the cultural stewardship of cannabis that these heritage farmers have developed is replicated nowhere else. CALIFORNIA ARTISANAL Hashish NEW AOCs WILL PRESERVE THE UNDERGROUND, CONNOISSEUR HERITAGE OF A TRADITIONALLY CRAFTED PRODUCT by Allison Edrington Artisanal hashish. PHOTO: FRENCHY CANNOLI