Racking cane - what is it?

Is the hose too big?

Basically the end with the black cap you put into the wine. The other end you attach to a hose. You start a suction (I do this by havingthe cane filled with sulfited water) and then use it to suction the wine out of the carboy/bucket. It is gentle to the wine in that it does not aerate it too much.

In addition, if you were sent a bottling wand (if not I would get one) that will allow you to control the flow of wine intothe bottles easily. It is a piece of hard plastic tubing with a little valve inthe bottom. Attach it to the other end of the hose opposite of the racking cane. When the valve hits the bottom of teh bottle it opens up and lets the wine flow into the bottles.

Ah. Once you told me how it worked, I got the hose in and now it makes perfect sense. Even now the funny other gizmo I figured out. It goes on the other end of the hose and into each bottle and as long as you press, it fills. when you pick up, it stops. Wow! Isn't this stuff cool! Can't wait for my first batch to be bottled now! Should be next Saturday.

thanks! DAve

Dro> Is the hose too big?

Another net gizmo that goes with all this is a racking cane clip. It snaps on the side of the racking cane so you can clip it to the mouth of the carboy as you rack so the cane does not flop around and stir up the sediment while you are racking. You can still slide the cane up and down in the carboy but it is held steady. Costs less than $2 and can prevent a lot of aggravation. Something you should have.

Ray