That seems odd to me too, but the only reason I can think of is that
most fruits are naturally low in sugar. You need somewhere between 9
and 10% alcohol by volume if you want the alcohol to act as a natural
preservative. Maybe that is the idea, most brandies are around 40%
ABV. Now a glass in 5 gallons (Imp or US) won't do much, but 6 ounces
in 122 or 154 may.

Old timers around here use old whiskey barrels to make grape wines;
some use no sulfite and do not rinse the barrel. It's my undestanding
there is about a gallon of whiskey left in the staves if you do that,
they consider it a preservative that adds 'kick'. To be honest, I
have never liked a wine made this way, it's _unusual_...

Regards,
Joe


> > 1) I have a book of wine recipies, which for some of the fruit wine
> suggests
> > adding a wineglass of brandy to the secondary "if desired". Why would I
> > desired this? What will it do to the wine?
>
> I have not seen that one and, like you, I see not reason to do it and can
> think of several to not do it. a) it is expensive, b) it could cause a
> stuck frement, and c) it would chang the taste.