Most recipes I love are simple .... per gallon - 3lbs of fruit (brambles, elderberries, rasps, plums, ... or 3lbs of any combination) ... 1kg sugar, one teabag, yeast, nutrient, pectolase .... a good squirt o' lime juice if the fruit is not acidic enough, and away it goes
Another simple 'reckoner' .... 1 - 1.5 litres o' a pure juice instead o' the fresh fruit will almost always work.
Gets a wee bit mair complicated when usin dried fruit ... like sultanas, raisins, dates, currants etc .... esp in combination wi other fruits, then there's the flower wines .... usually 250g of Sultanas and a couple o' pints o' flowers/petals (not pressed down) tae replace the fresh fruit in the first sentence above ....
... I rarely think about recipes tho .... when yev been makin' wine for a long time, ye develop a feel for what's too much or nae enough.
The most common reason for a 'honkin' wine tho, is too much sugar, or usin a high sugar (high alcohol) recipe, but addin all the sugar at the start.
Old recipes tend tae be for wines which will end up around 17 to 18% alcohol .... near enough the theoretical maximum - if they actually get there! .... if yev a cold hoose ... ye could be waitin a lang, lang time for such a wine tae ferment.
I aim for an alcohol content between 12 and 14% .... usually finishes up within 2 weeks .... then sits a while before finings added tae get it clear (sometimes a wine will quickly clear on its own).
Some wines, like rhubarb, Melon, Elderflower, bramble, are pretty pleasant to drink as soon as cleared - but, yeah, they do improve with age..... but, there's a point where they don't improve anymore - despite anyone tellin you otherwise
... typically, whites, six months ... reds, 12 months. Depends on conditions tho.
.... The other myth is that the wine gets stronger as it matures. This will only happen if you bottle too soon and the fermentation continues in the bottle ... the most likely result is more likely a burst bottle or cork poppin oot --- rather than any level o' drunkeness
..... so if anybody tries tellin ye o' the time they had a bottle o' wine which was matured for such a length o' time it was as strong as whisky ... pretend yer mobile phone jist vibrated in yer pooch, look shocked at the screen, an' say "sorry mate, Ah need tae go!"