Cannabis Operator, Winemaker Make Peace in the Sta. Rita Hills
Grower Agrees Not to Sue over Any Pesticide ‘Drift’ from Grapes
A cannabis operation along the Santa Ynez River in the fabled Sta. Rita Hills got a green light from the county Planning Commission this month with no opposition from surrounding vineyards, including Sanford, Lafond, and Sea Smoke, some of the most iconic names in the region.
“We’re getting along fine with all of our neighbors,” John De Friel, the CEO of Central Coast Agriculture at 5645 Santa Rosa Road, told commissioners at a May 12 hearing on the project.
Most notably, those neighbors include the Fiddlestix Vineyard, a 130-acre operation to the west that De Friel reported to the county for a pesticide violation in 2019. Since then, De Friel told the commissioners, he, the winemaker, and her sprayer have worked things out. He placed their pesticide agreements in the public record to prove it.
