Cali Northern Rhone-Style Wine Kit, Forte

Overview

You are drawn to wines with history, restraint, and quiet confidence, wines that reveal themselves over time rather than announce everything at once. With the Cali Northern Rhone-Style Wine Kit, Forte, you step into a more nuanced expression of home winemaking, one rooted in balance, texture, and tradition. This kit invites you to explore a classic Northern Rhône inspired profile through your own hands, in your own space, guided by patience and intent. Crafted from premium California grapes and developed by Finer Wine Kits, this is your opportunity to create a wine that reflects discernment and depth, a wine that feels thoughtful, layered, and unmistakably deliberate.

Flavor and Style
As fermentation unfolds, you shape a wine that is both structured and expressive. Syrah leads with dark blackberry, black olive, and savory plum, supported by signature notes of cracked white pepper, smoked herbs, and subtle floral lift. Small percentages of Chardonnay contribute a rounded mouthfeel and gentle creaminess, while Riesling adds a faint thread of citrus brightness that sharpens focus and lengthens the finish without pulling the wine out of balance. The result is a dry, medium to full bodied red wine with tension and elegance, where savory depth meets freshness and restraint, lingering with spice, dark fruit, and mineral driven complexity.

What Makes This Kit Different
This is the ultimate home winemaking experience because you work with raw grape concentrates and real grape skins rather than shelf stable ingredients engineered for convenience. Your fermentation includes 4 lbs of real grape skins along with exclusive grape seed packs, a feature unique to Finer Wine Kits. In traditional red winemaking, seeds are essential for developing authentic tannin structure and phenolic depth. Fermenting with both skins and seeds builds layered texture, natural balance, and a framework capable of supporting a finished alcohol level of 14 percent with composure. These decisions are precisely why wines made with Finer Wine Kits move beyond the familiar kit taste associated with shelf stable brands and instead deliver the nuance, grip, and integration expected from wines made with fresh grapes.

Designed for Confidence and Control
You are supported at every stage without being constrained. Developed by home winemakers, Finer Wine Kits convert years of hands on experience into a process that is both reliable and educational. The instructions explain not only what to do, but why each step matters, allowing you to develop intuition rather than simply follow directions. Video tutorials provide additional clarity, making this kit approachable for first time winemakers and deeply satisfying for experienced enthusiasts seeking more control and authenticity.

Cold Stored, Direct to Your Door
This kit is a true agricultural product and cannot sit on a shelf. Because of its perishable nature, it is stored cold and shipped directly from freezer storage to your door, preserving freshness, aroma, and grape integrity. This direct to door model is the only way a wine kit of this caliber can exist. By eliminating distributors and wholesalers, you receive top grade ingredients at peak condition without unnecessary markups, ensuring genuine value for a premium winemaking experience.

The raw grape concentrate is vacuum evaporated at low temperatures to preserve natural character and avoid the cooked flavors common in shelf stable kits. If you are not ready to begin immediately, the grape skins must be stored in your freezer, and the raw grape concentrates must be stored at 3 degrees F or colder to maintain quality and performance throughout fermentation.

Technical Details
• Finished alcohol: 14 percent ABV
• Yield: 28 to 30 bottles, 6 gallons
• Style: Medium to full bodied red blend
• Varietals: Syrah dominant with small percentages of Chardonnay and Riesling
• Character: Dry
• Region: Lodi, California
• Fermentation ingredients: Raw grape concentrate, 4 lbs of real grape skins, grape seed packs
• Storage requirements: Grape skins must be stored in the freezer, raw grape concentrates must be stored at 3 degrees F or colder
• Important notice: This kit is an agricultural product and must be fermented or cooked before being consumed

With the Cali Northern Rhone Style Wine Kit, Forte, you are not chasing intensity for its own sake. You are crafting a wine of restraint, structure, and quiet authority, one that reflects your appreciation for tradition, balance, and the deeper rewards of truly intentional home winemaking.

You can view and download the complete instruction booklet here. Advanced users can now also download an abbreviated version of the instructions here.

*This kit is an agricultural product and must be fermented or cooked before being consumed.

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