I shoot for at least 1.100 when starting a must, sometimes even higher if I think the flavor is so delicate to need a lot of added flavor later. Generally for fruit wine they recommend 1.090 for reds, and a a bit less for whites. My preference for years has been tart white wine, but I'm finding that I really enjoy reds in fruit wine. For finishing, i ferment to dry (can be anywhere from 1.00 to .900 depending on the yeast) then flavorpak to whatever I think tastes best. By bench trial of course, nothing worse than adding too much sugar via the concentrate to the whole batch.
Folks here at WMT taught me that light colored fruit takes a lot more to keep a flavor in the wine than darker colored fruit. That has held true so far in my experience.
If your local brew house doesn't carry those flavor concentrates I'd suggest ordering over the web. They are a great way to pop the flavor. Sometimes some folks say a couple of the flavors can impart an artificial flavor, so benchtrials are a must to determine how much to add. Personally I have at least one container of every flavor I can find, more of cranberry which has become my base flavor of choice. I'm newish to this, so needed a way to learn without breaking the bank. Now I start with concentrates and add frozen fruit in fermenting bags. I have lots of fruit frozen from last season from my yard, and enjoy combining flavors.
One more step I have NOT reached yet is to experience how my wines change over time in the bottle. They say it can deepen flavor, become richer etc. I have to admit I flavor my wines to the point where I like them, tho not quite as sweet, when I flavorpak them prior to aging for a while. If they become a lot more flavor intense years down the road I might have created a monster. Right now I'm enjoying wines made about 6 months back, and they are great. But I did want to let you know that my experience does not include what happens after long term aging.
Hope this helps.
Pam in cinti
