I have a 3 gallon batch of Berry Zinfandel (1/3 mixed berry wine, 2/3
Zinfandel) that's taken an incredibly long time to finish
fermentation. I understand now where I went wrong with this batch, but
I'd like to try to save it before it's a completely lost cause.

At the latest racking it was apparent that it was loaded with CO2 and
had become a little oxidized. So it appears to still be fermenting,
and due to the number of rackings and possibly a lower than ideal
level of sulfites it has become oxidized.

I'm thinking about turning it into a Madeira type wine. To that end,
in a month or so I might top it off with brandy and give it a good
dose of sulfites. Hopefully this will stabilize the wine and prevent
any further degradation. A month later I'll rack it again and sweeten
it. Then I'll leave it in the garage for the summer. I live in
Arizona, and my garage is 100 degrees plus for most of the summer.

I don't think my approach to saving a suspect batch of wine is
original. I know there are other options for dealing with oxidation;
Jack Keller describes a method using skim milk on his site, but I'm
curious about Madeira and I'm inclined to go that route.

Has anyone on this forum made a Madeira wine before? Does my approach
seem ok? Many Madeira recipes describe a step involving charcoal. Is
this really necessary? Also, how much brandy should be required to
stabilize this wine and bring it up to the expected

Thanks,

Greg