I'm interested in possibly either getting into wine making or beer making.
It appears that wine making is easier, but you obviously have to wait longer. The thing I like about beer is that you have an opportunity to make something much more flavorful than what you can buy in the store (at least better than Budweiser, Coors, etc.). With wine, I don't see how you can really produce something better than what you would buy in the liquor store, unless you're accustomed to drinking Mad Dog 20/20. Of course a batch of wine should last much longer than a batch of beer (unless you're really a sod-head). I figure that you wouldn't even have to be making that often, to keep a nice stock of wine.
I've read that wine needs to be stored @ around 70deg. F during fermentation. This might be difficult. In the summertime, the inside of our home gets up to 75 - 78 degrees. I might find closets and such that don't typically get warmer than 73 - 75 degrees, but that's probably about as good as it will get. Would this be a problem? If so, is there a relatively inexpensive way to get the temp. down a few degrees (not for the entire house, just for the fermenting wine)?
Do most folks use the small barrels for fermentation, or do most folks just use the "bucket" that comes with most kits?
Do most equipment kits come with everything you need, or are there major components missing that one should be aware of?
Any other thoughts/advice?