I've been lurking in here for a month or so in preparation of my first attempt to make wine at home. I have a Selection Kit (white merlot and a cab). I'll be doing the white merlot tomorrow and then after getting a few more carboys, proceed with the merlot when the first fermentation on the cab is complete. The instructions with the kit confirm that fermentation temperature should be between 65-75 degrees F. Since my den of activity will be in the basement of my home in the NE portion of the States, I could be in trouble. Luckily, I have a room down there where I can control the temperature. I was wondering what the ideal temp setting should be? Do I keep it closer to 65 or closer to 75F? The instructions also say the lower the temp, the longer it will take to reach 1.010 SG or less, I'm thinking I should just go for a room temp of 70F, since I'm not sure of the dangers caused by going over the 75F mark.
Any thoughts?