The number and diversity of cannabis products continues to multiply as more entrepreneurs get into the industry, bringing their own unique products. One area that has exploded in popularity is cannabis beverages, sometimes called “cannawine.”

The cannabis beverage market is expected to reach $7 billion, an eye-popping number even in an industry where eye-popping numbers are the norm. Some of the best-selling brands include cannabis-infused tonic water, sparkling water, iced tea, lemonade, watermelon punch and Bloody Marys.

Wine, though, is also expected to become huge, especially given the wine-growing country in California where cannabis also is grown. More products that blend wine and cannabis are hitting the market, many originating in this part of the country.

Welcome to the World of Cannawine

Cannabis-infused wine – called “cannawine” by some manufacturers – involves infusing a wine-flavored beverage with hemp or cannabis. Some include no alcohol, but offer a way to enjoy THC with smoking it or eating it. Others combine alcohol and CBD.

That last bit is an important one. Because the federal government still considers cannabis illegal, dispensaries can’t sell alcohol and wine together. You’ll find cannabis-infused wine in two general categories

• THC wine, which is wines free from alcohol but infused with THC and CBD
• Alcoholic wines infused with CBD (which contains no THC)

You’ll want to read the fine print. “Several products on consumer shelves today bearing the tell-tale green marijuana leaf are handily misleading uninformed customers by implying the product in their bottles will get them high, but in fact, contains no THC,” according to the Spruce Eats.

Benefits of THC Wine

New brands are popping up left and right in the THC wine space. Some of the more popular include Rebel Coast (“here’s to now, here’s to no hangovers”) and House of Saka, which features luxury cannabis-infused wine made for women, by women.

They’ll likely soon have plenty of competition. THC wine offers significant benefits to users. The first is that people can enjoy cannabis-infused wine without a hangover the next morning. The second is that they can better control their THC intake if they go the non-alcoholic route.

The other key benefit is that for those who want to enjoy traditional wine but want the wellness benefits of CBD, there’s plenty of products entering the market that offer that experience, as well. CBD-infused drinks drive many of the optimistic revenue projections for the cannabis beverages industry,  especially low-sugar drinks that give users an alternative to smoking cannabis flower or eating cookies, chocolates, gummies and other edibles.

Bill Gibbs, founder and owner of the new Sweet Dreams Vineyards in Phoenix, summed up the thinking behind entrepreneurs entering this growing niche of the cannabis industry. His vineyard recently launched two new alcohol-free adult drinks that contain THC.

Gibbs told the Phoenix New Times: “I think that with two-thirds of people in this country finding cannabis as a viable alternative [to alcohol], they’re ready for something like this.”