I used to make a lot of wine and beer, but haven't recently due to lack of time.
My general advice would be:
Sterilization is important, but you don't need to be over paranoid. As long as you're dilegent you'll be fine.
I wasn't a fan of filtering ... I found it affected the flavour. Rather than filitering I just racked the finished product a couple extra times to get away from the sediment.
Red wine needs to be aged longer than white. It seemed most reds peaked around 9 to 12 months, whereas whites peaked around 4 to 6 months. Reds kept better too. Sauvigon blanc was the white I had best results with, and pretty well any reds. If you like German wines, I found piesporters are a good quick wine ... they are pretty good after a month or two, but crash fast. When I was low stocked I'd always rattle off a batch of piesporter to drink first while I aged my other wines.
I found beer wasn't worth the effort ... too much work for an unpredictable and often disappointing result. Apple cider turned out pretty good though if you're into cider.
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