When Alex and Morgan started looking for a THC drink to replace their nightly glass of wine, they assumed someone had already made it. They found shelves full of seltzers, high-dose drinks, and products at their local liquor store aimed at people looking for a stronger experience with high-dose drinks. What they didn’t find was a wine version that fit their own routine. They wanted something that felt more like winding down with a glass of wine at the end of the day.

So they decided to make it themselves, a founder’s story we’ve heard before.

It was an unlikely path for a firefighter and a tech professional with no background in beverages, manufacturing, or consumer products. The couple had never started a company before. They had never developed a drink, worked with a co-packer, or shipped pallets across the country.

Today, they’re building Delta Vine one step at a time, balancing full-time careers while packing online orders from home and learning every part of the beverage business as they go. Their journey also comes at one of the most uncertain moments for hemp businesses in Texas and the country as the November 12 hemp ban looms ahead.

The state’s hemp market has spent the past two years caught between lawmakers pushing for an outright ban and others arguing that hemp products should be regulated instead. A bill that would have prohibited consumable hemp THC products passed the Legislature in 2025 before Governor Greg Abbott vetoed it at the last minute. A subsequent special session failed to produce a new framework, leaving businesses operating under existing rules while regulators work through new proposals.

Another legislative session begins in January 2027, and many businesses are once again waiting to see what comes next.

For Alex and Morgan, the uncertainty has become part of daily life.

“We’re kind of always in a holding pattern,” Alex said. “We get a lot of really good feedback, but everyone is trying to figure out what Texas is going to do, let alone the federal government.”

Ironically, cannabis wasn’t even part of their lives growing up. Both were raised in California, where marijuana became widely available through medical and recreational programs. Despite living in one of the country’s most cannabis-friendly states, neither of them used it.

That changed after they moved to Texas.

Alex works as a firefighter in Central Texas. When the state’s medical cannabis program expanded to include PTSD, many firefighters qualified. He decided to try low-dose gummies to help with sleep and stress, and the experience changed his perspective.

Instead of replacing one vice with another, he and Morgan saw THC as an alternative to alcohol. They were approaching 40 and wanted to cut back on their nightly wine without giving up the ritual of sharing a drink together.

The problem was they couldn’t find the product they wanted.

That realization started them down a path neither expected. With little more than a name, an idea, and a Google search asking how to make a beverage, they began teaching themselves an entirely new industry.

Their first stop was Power Brands, a California beverage development company. Together, they worked through every decision on flavor profiles, THC dosage, can sizes, color, and packaging.

After several rounds of samples, the couple flew to Los Angeles, where they spent hours tasting formulations with food scientists until they landed on two recipes.

Rather than dealcoholizing wine, they decided to create what they describe as a “wine-ish” beverage. Working with food scientists, they built wine-inspired flavor profiles that deliver the experience of enjoying wine without trying to duplicate it exactly.

Their white blend draws inspiration from Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling, creating a light, crisp table wine style. The red combines Merlot and Pinot Noir flavor profiles with tannins and a hint of black pepper for added depth. The goal wasn’t to convince wine lovers they were drinking wine; it was to create something familiar enough that could replace the wine occasion.

They also kept the THC dose low. After experimenting themselves, Alex and Morgan settled on 2.5 milligrams per can. They weren’t trying to create another high-potency drink. They wanted something for people like themselves, newcomers to cannabis who wanted an alternative to alcohol without feeling overwhelmed. One can is meant to feel more like enjoying a glass of wine, with the option of opening a second if you choose.

Getting the recipe right was only the beginning. Next came finding someone willing to make it.

Many co-packers required production runs that were well beyond what the couple could afford. Eventually, they found a partner that could accommodate a smaller launch. Their first production run involved mobile canning at a brewery in Cincinnati. More recently, they moved production to a New Jersey co-packer specializing in THC beverages because the lower minimums made more sense for a young company.

Then they had to figure out freight.

Today, pallets travel from New Jersey back to Texas, where Alex and Morgan store inventory and ship orders directly to customers from home. They still handle fulfillment themselves while searching for a warehouse partner that can eventually take over as the business grows. Every step has required another lesson.

“There were so many things we never even knew we needed to know,” Alex said.