Aging is optional; it will improve the wine, but there's nothing stopping you from drinking it immediately and it will probably taste pretty decent. Many wines are perfectly drinkable after secondary fermentation has finished (and you've added the metabisulfite to fully stop it unless you're making champagne and you want additional carbonation). The longer you age it and the more work you put into it, the better the end product, but that's true for most things. Many store-bought wines are less than a year old.
To me wines are actually less work to homebrew than beer. Especially if you're working from a kit, there's no need to cook anything - just dump everything in the fermenter and go. Beyond that the process is largely similar. Primary fermentation -> secondary fermentation -> bottling -> drinking. They're pretty forgiving too.
In general, whites take a bit more work to get a really good looking product than reds. For a white, I'll usually rack at least three times over about a week, and then filter it so I get a nice, amber-clear end product with no sediment. Note that this doesn't really impact the taste much, just the appearance. Reds I usually don't bother to rack more than once or maybe twice.
When I am done I usually sit my bottles upright in a cool, dark area for a few days before putting them in the wine rack on their sides.
This one [0] specifically is a family favorite. Has a nice light, somewhat fruit taste that's great for a warm summer evening. This one is best kept cool (I keep a few of my bottles that we're about to drink in a wine refrigerator.)
To me wines are actually less work to homebrew than beer. Especially if you're working from a kit, there's no need to cook anything - just dump everything in the fermenter and go. Beyond that the process is largely similar. Primary fermentation -> secondary fermentation -> bottling -> drinking. They're pretty forgiving too.
In general, whites take a bit more work to get a really good looking product than reds. For a white, I'll usually rack at least three times over about a week, and then filter it so I get a nice, amber-clear end product with no sediment. Note that this doesn't really impact the taste much, just the appearance. Reds I usually don't bother to rack more than once or maybe twice.
When I am done I usually sit my bottles upright in a cool, dark area for a few days before putting them in the wine rack on their sides.
This one [0] specifically is a family favorite. Has a nice light, somewhat fruit taste that's great for a warm summer evening. This one is best kept cool (I keep a few of my bottles that we're about to drink in a wine refrigerator.)
[0] https://www.midwestsupplies.com/collections/riesling-recipe-...