Steak and red wine, fish and white wine, any food and marijuana.

That’s generally the less informed opinion on what to pair with what, but over in Colorado (of course) there’s a pot sommelier taking things to the next level.

His name is Philip Wolf, and his company ‘Cultivating Spirits’ is adding a third layer to the food pairing game. They’ll help you with the food and wine bit, but they’ll also provide the perfect strain of weed to compliment each dish.

Here’s Bloomberg:

He’s one of the nation’s first accredited cannabis sommeliers, having completed two levels of schooling at the Trichome Institute in Denver. It’s one of a handful of such schools, greatly outnumbered by the many certification programs for wine sommeliers…

Trichome calls its program Interpening, which refers to “a method used to identify and understand cannabis variety, based on interpreting the plant’s terpenes and flower structure. Scientifically speaking, terpenes are evaporating molecular hydrocarbon chains that produce scent.” Wolf “will break down the strain of cannabis and give that over to the chef,” he said. “We don’t prepare the menu until two days before the event, to utilize [sic] the freshest ingredients.”

I want the deets – what are we eating?

A typical menu features a ribeye steak with chili relleno, a 2013 Malbec, and Gorilla Glue. For dessert, there’s a white chocolate creme brûlée with a 2012 Petite Syrah, and Blue Dream [pictured below].

The protocol is puff, eat, drink, in that order, though it’s more a sensible suggestion than a rule, and it’s hard to imagine anyone getting upset at a breach, especially as the meal goes on. Wolf doesn’t expect weed to replace wine at the dinner table.

Breaching protocol at the dinner table might be ‘acceptable’, but bogart the joint at a jol and expect stoner wrath.

Here’s the really sad news though – the minimum cost of a three-course pairing dinner catered by Wolf is $1 250 (R18 000) for 10 people, so it’s not the kind of culinary experience you’ll treat yourself too all that often.

A final parting message from Wolf:

“What I’m trying to teach millennials is to slow down a little bit, to get in tune with themselves and what they’re putting in their bodies, to focus on different tastes and textures,” Wolf said.  He added that he doesn’t target that demographic exclusively.

“I feel like cannabis is something for all walks of life,” he said.

Given that weed is still far from being legal, although there is landmark courtroom battle on the horizon, we won’t be (publicly) enjoying the wisdom of people such as Philip.

The best we can do is a sommelier, and us Capetonians are lucky to have the likes of Neil Grant kicking around this part of the world. As a a founding member and past chairman of the South African Sommeliers Association, you can bet that visiting one of his restaurants will be a food and wine delight.

Whether it’s Burrata, Bocca or Open Door you’ll find the cellars stocked with both familiar favourites and lesser-known gems, the knowledgeable staff on hand to help you out.

Happy eating and drinking (and smoking).

[source:bloomberg]