At the risk of sounding self-promoting, I wrote an article on making hard cider for the October '07 issue of Mother Earth News. You may find some pointers in there.

Basically, get the soft cider into a clean, sanitized, food-grade plastic bucket that has a lid (raid your local hippie grocery store -- they routinely have them laying around and will part with them for free), add a packet or two of wine yeast (per five gallons of soft cider), punch a hole in the lid and affix an airlock, affix the lid and let it sit a few weeks in a cool place. The lid and airlock will allow the fermenting cider to off-gas will keeping ambient air out, and the wine yeast will most likely outcompete the wild yeast and leave you with a more consistent- if not better-tasting beverage. Lalvin 71B-1122 is pretty good for cider, because it can process some of the malic acid in the cider into softer-tasting lactic acid. Once it's done fermenting, siphon it into another bucket -- if you want it to clarify -- or clean, sanitized jugs/bottles. Siphon it between vessels with as little splashing as possible to prevent aeration, which will lead to oxidation and possible acetobacter infection.

Also, consider contacting a local homebrewing club. Even if you're not a member, they're typically eager -- to a fault, almost -- to share their expertise.

(I really dig your fruitslinger blog, by the way.)
posted by cog_nate at 11:43 AM on October 3

This guy got the best results from using wild yeast. YMMV.
posted by electroboy at 12:16 PM on October 3

electroboy, yeah. That article was one of the first things to spring to my mind when I saw this question. Keep in mind that the author of that article preserved his finished hard cider with sodium benzoate and goes on to say, "A word of caution, wild yeasts are notorious for variability. One year the cider may be award-winning but could equally be putrid."