Justin Calvino raked a hand beneath a shimmering marijuana plant, combing through chips of century-old apple trees and manure from his stable of miniature horses.
Come fall, the rich soil on his North Mendocino coast pot farm coupled with other factors like characteristic foggy mornings will yield high-grade sativa buds dripping with mind-altering potency — as well as notes of chocolate and lime.
It’s a unique product for discriminating palates and one Calvino hopes to market to consumers across California through a legally defined and protected geographical identification system similar to what’s used in the wine industry.
The onetime Haight-Ashbury dope dealer is leading a movement to establish the nation’s first countywide cannabis appellations recognizing the region’s diverse topography, climate and weed-growing culture. The hope is it will cement Mendocino’s reputation as a premier growing region in a market that could be flooded with more generic weed. [Read more at The Press Democrat]