in need of some guidence...

[lacedspirits]

As some of you may know, I work at a small brewery/winery/distillery/restaurant. I've been researching vermouth recipes for almost a month now and have a few recipes that sound promising.
This much I know about vermouth:
dry vermouth is made from a dry white wine infused /spices and fortified w/brandy.
sweet vermouth consists of a sweetened red wine base infused w/spices and fortified w/brandy.
My current wine selection consists of a semi-dry, light bodied cabernet franc and a semi-sweet reisling.
As of right now, we have not created a brandy.
In the next hour I plan on going up to the grocery store and picking up enough frozen grape juice to make 5 gallons of wine. My yeast starter finished today, made from 5g of EC-1118 yeast, 200mL of honey, 1 tsp of molasses, 5g of boiled (dead) ec-1118 yeast, and 800mL of h2o.
I am not a winemaker so I have a myriad of questions:

Would a white Welches wine be a suitable base for a dry vermouth?
If so, should I use table suger or dextrose to raise the sp gravity?
Should I use the reisling or cab franc for my brandy wash?
I have an abundance of apple wood and like the flavor it adds to other spirits, would it be appropriate for aging brandy or should I stick to French Oak?

This is one of those "You don't know what you don't know" situations and I know I'll be adding more questions as the day goes on. I know just enough to be dangerous- story of my life.

And Thanks in advance for everyones help,
ls