Just got a wine kit - Question about a piece of equipment

[amp1]

I just purchased a wine kit for the first time and I'm going to be attempting my first batch of wine after couple months of researching and watching. The only problem is there is a piece of equipment in my wine kit that I don't recognize and the kit appears to lack a wine thief. I'm not sure if this is supposed something to help with siphoning. I don't think it's a wine thief because it's way too skinny. Anyway here is a picture. If anyone could let me know what it is and hot it works that would be great Thanks.

 

[xoltri]

It's a bottling wand. http://wiki.homedistiller.org/Bottling_Wand

 

[Tom]

Yep. Connect a hose to this and the spigot and the spring inside will let the wine flow. Lift it iff the botton on the bottle and the flow stops.
Keep us posted on you trip thur fermenting your wine.
What did you get?

 

[ffemt128]

Welcome to the forum. Great place here. Let us know what you ended up getting and keep us posted throughout the process if you have any questions.

 

[WeLoveCab]

As people have said that is your bottling wand. Check the spigot tip... push it in with your finger... is there any tension on it? or does it just flop around freely?... there are two kinds of these wands... Spring loaded and gravity.... Gravity uses the flow from the wine to put pressure on the tip to stop the wine from coming out when you switch bottles. Push the tip down on the bottom of the bottle and pull up when the bottle gets full, push against the top inside of the bottle to finish filling to proper fill... the spring loaded ones are better as the spring will help keep the tip closed between bottles. We've had 3 of the gravity ones go bad on us and it gets very messy when things go wrong in the middle of a bottling session.

Also a wine thief is something you will want to buy. You'll use the theif to fetch out wine for testing... dip it in, let the inside fill up, pull it out and then release into your test tube or glass.

 

[amp1]

Ahh Ok thanks. That makes sense. The bottling wand I have appears to be a gravity one. The wine I got was a Wine Art - Pinot Noir kit.I'm debating over starting the kit right now or waiting until I get a Brew Belt. I'm concerned about the temperature in my apartment with these cold Canadian winters. What do you guys think about brew belts?

 

[cpfan]

Ahh Ok thanks. That makes sense. The bottling wand I have appears to be a gravity one. The wine I got was a Wine Art - Pinot Noir kit.I'm debating over starting the kit right now or waiting until I get a Brew Belt. I'm concerned about the temperature in my apartment with these cold Canadian winters. What do you guys think about brew belts?

First what kind of temperatures are you currently experiencing in your apartment?

A blanket or a small heating pad might work to keep the wine warm, but a brew belt also works well.

Steve

 

[Tom]

Ahh Ok thanks. That makes sense. The bottling wand I have appears to be a gravity one. The wine I got was a Wine Art - Pinot Noir kit.I'm debating over starting the kit right now or waiting until I get a Brew Belt. I'm concerned about the temperature in my apartment with these cold Canadian winters. What do you guys think about brew belts?

Wait and get a belt. Temp is important. you want around 70*f for wine.

 

[Runningwolf]

Amp welcome to the forum. I agree get the brew belt, it works great and you'll always have it for emergencies also.

 

[WeLoveCab]

Order the wine theif at the same time and a test tube for your hydromiter if the kit didn't come with one... these will come in handy right away.

One other thing... my equipment kit only came with a section of tubeing as a syphon hose... if that is the case for you then I suggest getting an auto syphon as well... trust me yeast must does not taste very good.

 

[abefroman]

Order the wine theif at the same time and a test tube for your hydromiter if the kit didn't come with one... these will come in handy right away.

One other thing... my equipment kit only came with a section of tubeing as a syphon hose... if that is the case for you then I suggest getting an auto syphon as well... trust me yeast must does not taste very good.

I second the auto-siphon.

 

[saintprovogirl]

A wine thief is just a glorified turkey baster so if you want to save some money with shipping etc., I'd just hit up Walmart.

 

[abefroman]

A wine thief is just a glorified turkey baster so if you want to save some money with shipping etc., I'd just hit up Walmart.

Yes and no, I use the thief over the baster, gets more liquid out faster.

 

[Torch404]

Slightly less dribbling with the wine thief over the turkey baster. I think I used a baster twice before I got fed up and picked up a wine thief.

 

[Runningwolf]

A wine thief is just a glorified turkey baster so if you want to save some money with shipping etc., I'd just hit up Walmart.

JMO but I never got use to using a baster. I use a thief all the time for samples. Just remember the more you buy at one time the cheaper the shipping is.

 

[saintprovogirl]

Never really had problems with the baster I got at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I've used my gf's thief with about the same results so I figured why buy another. Could also be all the years of cookin' the turkey for Thanksgiving too.

 

[Dugger]

Ahh Ok thanks. That makes sense. The bottling wand I have appears to be a gravity one. The wine I got was a Wine Art - Pinot Noir kit.I'm debating over starting the kit right now or waiting until I get a Brew Belt. I'm concerned about the temperature in my apartment with these cold Canadian winters. What do you guys think about brew belts?

amp - welcome to the forum; always good to have another Maritimer on here. I vote with the others to get a brew belt; you will be happy you did - Moncton can get cold! Another tip is to wrap your bucket/carboy with a blanket or something (I use an old insulated shirt) when it's fermenting because the fermentation itself produces heat and will warm itself up. If you do use a belt, be careful about covering it or you might create a fire hazard.
For the bottling wand, clean it really well when you've used it - rinse it both forward and backward to get both sides of the valve clean - the bottom can sometimes get a buildup of wine residue or a bit of sediment and cause it to stick open in use. Good luck.

 

[amp1]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to wait until Monday to start the kit and I'll make sure to pick up a heating belt before I start.