I don't know that a kit provides any learning curve. It's a lot like using a cook book that comes with ingredients. You don't really learn the underlying processes (why you do what you do). I would think that the easiest way to teach yourself wine making is to get a gallon of fruit juice from your supermarket.
Measure the gravity. It'll be around 1.040 - 1.050. If that is enough then remove some of the liquid and pitch the yeast. If you are looking for a wine rather than a cider then up the gravity to 1.090 with table sugar.
After two weeks or so measure the gravity and if it is around 1.000 rack it into another container (carboy?) and add a bung and airlock (note that I never suggested adding an airlock to the juice. You can cover that loosely with a lid or even some cloth). Allow the wine to age a month or two. Is it too dry for you? Stabilize and bench test to add sweetener.
Is it too blah? Not enough acidity? You might add some lemon juice or malic or tartaric acid or a blend of acids.
Does the wine have enough tannins? If yes, OK. If not you might add some oak cubes and monitor over the next couple of weeks (a bit like dry hopping). For your next batch you might want to add some tannins before you pitch the yeast (a cup of black tea is sometimes used as are tannins from grapes or chestnuts.
What about viscosity (mouthfeel)? Some yeasts add glycerols and they add viscosity. Some residual sugars add viscosity.
Is there enough fruity flavor? If enough , OK, but sometimes the flavor is thin. You may want /need to add more fruit to the secondary and use the alcohol to extract flavor and color.
Is the wine bright and clear? If it is, fine, but if it is cloudy then you may need to degas to remove CO2; you may need to use fining agents to force particles to drop out of suspension; some of the suspended particles might be pectins so next time you may want to add pectic enzymes to break down those pectins before you pitch the yeast.
I'm a contrarian. As a brewer you likely brewed batches 5 gallons or more but if you make single gallons of wine and you make them regularly you can acquire 5 lessons using the same volume as you made as a brewer. Wine can take about an hour or less to get everything up and rolling.
Good luck!
