Hi Joe. I'm new to the forum and this thread is fantastic. I'm still reading 2012 posts but have a wine situation that I needed to jump ahead for anyone to help me with.
A few months ago, I got a WE Trinity Red kit. Opened the box late night on a Sunday and got it started per the step-by-step instructions. This was my 5th kit and had no issues with the previous 4. Got to the starting SG and it read 1.045. That's not what I was supposed to get so I stirred, measured, remeasured, rewashed the Hydrometer, checked for breakage, measured again ... 1.045. Not knowing any better, I pressed ahead and added the yeast. The next day I called my vendor and got that ball started on the guarantee. And that ball is still rolling but I'll get a replacement kit in a couple weeks.
2 weeks later, SG was 0.995. So it was done fermenting, racked it, cleared and settled it and it's been aging a month now. I estimate the ABV to be 6.75%. I tasted it and it's too strong for breakfast juice but too weak for wine. So I'm thinking of 2 possible ways to go to get to an ABV of 10% to 11% which is acceptable to me.
Option 1. Bring it up to ABV 10.25% by adding brandy. To do so, I need to add half a litter of brandy to 3.5 litters of weak wine. A nice fit in a 4 litter glass jug. I taste tested a half oz of brandy with 3.5 oz of wine and it was decent and a little harsh. I would pull 3 litters of weak wine from the carboy leaving about 16 to 17 liters of wine. Then add 1.75 litters of Christian Bros 80 proof brandy (1 large bottle), wait a couple of days and taste. Then be ready to add more brandy to taste, then top with weak wine or sugar water or both. Biggest concern with this would be wine flavor lost by brandy dilution and brandy flavor.
Option 2. I'm supposed to get a replacement Trinity Red kit next Friday. So, I could amp up the potential ABV by adding sugar before adding yeast. Shoot for 15% or 16% ABV then mix the two batches for a possible ABV of 11%.
What do you think? Is one method more likely to succeed than the other? Could I improve either or both options. Is there a 3rd approach I should consider? I'm definitely outside of my box with this but perhaps someone has been here before.