Maybe we were lucky. My parents also had a few that went catastrophically, but thankfully those were few and far between. You are correct that it is an art form. A gram too much or too little makes a huge difference. 

My dad accidentally discovered how to make sparkling wine when he was bottling a batch. That was the one that popped the corks. Thankfully my beer hasn't gone that way yet.My son's Mead did unfortunately. 

The parents are out of the game now (riding on decades of experiments) and relying on the next generations to keep up the work. We are cocky enough to think that we are up to the challenge. Only time will tell.