Oh, mead. Terrible stuff. An acquaintance of me is a big fan, tho, so I let him talk me into a brewing session.

Ok, some basic points:
- Water is actually the main ingredient. Make sure to use the best tasting and cleanest water you can find. Apple juice or cherry juice are also a great basis, if you feel a little bit viking (We call that Viking blood and Odin blood).
- The choice of yeast is extremely important. Each strain has a certain alcohol tolerance, that means the level of %ABV it can survive in an still produce more alcohol, as well as a set temperature point when it starts producing ester phenols instead of alcohol. Ester phenols are what we taste as different flavors. The "banana flavor" associated with a bavarian wheat beer comes from the yeast used, the signature cherry flavor of californian Zinfandel is also the product of the yeast used, not the grapes.
- Know your math: The general conversion-ratio of sugar to alcohol is 2:1. You want a mead with 10% ABV, you need to dissolve enough honey in a liquid to saturate it with 20% sugar and need a yeast that can take that ABV-level.
- Secondary fermentation is a thing. Regular yeast has a problem with metabolizing honey or caramelized sugars. If you want to go all-out on this, both, Lactobacillus as well as Brettamonyces are good for a secondary fermentation.
- Never, ever, under no conditions, add anything before primary fermentation is done. Stuff like cinnamon, ginger, orange peel and such are cool, but have a negative impact on the whole "brewing phase" and should be added after everything critical is done.
- It canīt be stressed enough that you have to work "clean". Everything you use has to be sterilized, because we want to control a very organic process in a controlled fashion.

That said, I would definitely advice any home-brewer to aim for the 15% ABV barrier, as the final product will be anti-septic as well as preserving.

- Bring your base liquid to the boiling point, then add and dissolve the honey.
- Seal you wash/wort to prevent outside contamination and cool down below room temperature as quick as you can - 17°C. (Hint: Your wash/wort is extremely attractive to the yeast strains that are a natural part of our surroundings. You don't really want that.)
- Use a fermentation balloon and "pitch" just enough red wine yeast to match the estimated sugar level (You did your math there, right?). If you have the ratio right, primary fermentation should take something like 5 days, depending on whether you can control the temperature. (Fermentation is an exothermal process. As mentioned above, you actually need to know when your yeast is producing alcohol or esters. The steadier you can keep the temperature to the "working environment" of the yeast, the quicker the whole process - 22°C)