It sounds like there might not be much in your stew to thicken it. The beef fat helps a bit, but you can toss the beef chunks in flour to give the stew a bit more body. This recipe I used just straight up has you add some unflavored powdered gelatin to it to give you that coating-the-back-of-a-spoon texture.

I’ve used red wine and beef in dishes together in the past. Usually you just need something a little salty to balance the sweetness out. The UK condiment marmite usually does the trick for me, although soy sauce can work in a pinch.