Welcome to the forum seanas3.
It is funny, i have obliviots i call friends who really think food just kinda appears, perhaps as the store itself. So I know what you mean.
In terms of your questions:
1. I throw my whey out, so i cannot comment.
2. There is a lot of discussion about that in this forum. I would encourage a search. I have used vacuum seals and while it seals the cheese, it prevents a rind from forming and pulls whey out of the cells and wrinkles my cheese. I do not use it anymore. YMMV
3. While they did not have refridgerators 200 years ago, they did have caves. And those caves provided both the humidity and the temperature controls needed. You can put a wheel of cheese out on the counter until it dries out or spoils. I think that will depend on the type of cheese and the type of rind.
4. I have not heard of that kind of cheese. I will say that I brine my parmesan at room temp.
I am not the expert, i am just adding my thoughts and letting you know how i do things. Cheesemaking for me is the ultimate "continuing education" course in my life.