At a certain point in your winemaking journey, the question stops being whether you can make good wine and starts being what kind of wine you want to make. Not better in a technical sense, but different in a stylistic one.

This is where medium to full bodied wine kits with skins enter the conversation. They are ideal for winemakers who have never tried working with skins while offering a more delicate option for those who have.

Kits with skins are not simply a more advanced version of juice based kits. They represent a different approach altogether. Skins introduce structure, texture, and tactile elements that change how a wine feels and how it behaves with food. They also change how you interact with fermentation itself. The result is not just a different wine, but a different winemaking experience.

Most wine kits that include skins are designed around power. Higher alcohol. Heavier extraction. Longer aging curves. That style has its place and it produces wines that many winemakers love. But it is not the only expression skins are capable of delivering.

This is where Artisan Finer Wine Kits occupy a distinct position on the landscape.

There are other kits that include grape skins, but Artisan has made this approach its standard while aiming for a different outcome. These are medium to full bodied wines built around balance rather than sheer intensity. Alcohol levels are lower, extraction is gentler, and the wines are designed to integrate rather than dominate.

That difference matters whether you are new to skins or already comfortable working with them.

If you have never made a kit with skins, Artisan Finer Wine Kits are a natural bridge. They introduce real skin fermentation without immediately pushing you into the most aggressive extraction profiles. Skin contact and phenolic development become part of the process, but in a way that encourages learning rather than risk management. The wines come together sooner and are more approachable earlier, making the experience rewarding from start to finish.

If you have made big bodied kits with skins, such as those in the Forte or Private Reserve categories, Artisan offers something those styles cannot by design. Lower alcohol changes extraction dynamics. Tannins develop more gently. Texture builds without excess weight. The result is a wine that emphasizes clarity, balance, and versatility rather than power alone.

This is where Artisan finds its place on the kit winemaking hill. It is not trying to replace bigger, bolder wines. It is offering a middle ground that had largely been missing. Wines with structure that do not require years to soften. Wines with skins that prioritize finesse as much as presence.

Within this context, varietal choice becomes a practical consideration rather than the headline. If you are looking to take your first step into skins, Pinot Noir is the most comfortable place to begin.

Pinot Noir naturally leans toward elegance and expression rather than force. In a medium to full bodied skins format, it gains mid palate weight, improved mouthfeel, and a longer finish without losing its balance. It allows you to experience extraction without feeling like every decision carries outsized consequences.

If you are already experienced with skins, the same wine offers a different kind of reward. It highlights what lower alcohol skin fermentation can do when structure is shaped less vigorously. It delivers a wine that pairs effortlessly with food and shows its character earlier, filling a role that bigger kits often cannot. If you have made a Cabernet Sauvignon from a higher intensity kit, Artisan offers a very different expression of the same varietal. Where a Forte style Cabernet is built around power, density, and long term evolution, an Artisan Cabernet focuses on proportion. You still get structure and tannin, but it is not as forceful. The lower alcohol changes how the skins express themselves, resulting in a wine that feels more lifted, more precise, and less dominated by sheer mass.

In the glass, an Artisan Cabernet shows darker fruit without heaviness, firmer acidity, and a more transparent sense of balance. The tannins are present but finer grained, integrating earlier and allowing the wine to drink well sooner. Instead of demanding time to tame its intensity, it rewards attention to detail during fermentation and thoughtful aging. It is the kind of Cabernet that pairs as easily with a meal as it does with contemplation, offering complexity without fatigue and structure without the need to wait years for it to soften.

The larger point is not about Pinot Noir specifically. It is about recognizing that Artisan Finer Wine Kits represent a distinct stylistic option. They sit between juice based kits and high intensity skins kits, offering something neither fully delivers.

Venturing into medium to full bodied wine kits with skins does not have to mean choosing extremes. Artisan has carved out a space where balance, texture, and approachability coexist. For many winemakers, that is not just a compromise. It is exactly what you have been looking for.

Shop Artisan Wine Kits