If you are a manufacturer or distributor of a home winemaking product -- any product, such as equipment, additives, wine yeasts, etc. -- and would like to submit a product for Daniel Pambianchi to perform an independent product test and review, and post results to this page, please contact Daniel. And please let us know if you will be featuring a new product at upcoming home winemaking events.

Please note that this is an independent review, i.e., it is not paid advertizement, and results are the exclusive property of Daniel Pambianchi and this site. Results will be posted along with an image of the product and contact or purchase information.

If you are interested in advertizing on this site, please contact Daniel.






Home SO₂ Test Kit

I easily get excited when there is a new winemaking product or wine analysis laboratory equipment that makes my winemaking (and life) easier. And it's a bonus if it saves me money. So you can understand my excitement when I found out about the new Home SO₂ Test Kit from MoreWine!.

Until now, home winemakers relied on Titrets for testing free SO₂ in wine. Titrets worked fine for whites, but polyphenols in reds skewed measurements making free SO₂ determination a guessing game. The alternative was expensive laboratory equipment, costing several hundreds of dollars, not easily accessible to home winemakers.

The Home SO₂ Test Kit now replicates the Aeration-Oxidation (AO) method used in enological laboratories but at a fraction of the cost. At US$99.95, you get all the paraphernalia, reagents and detailed instructions to accurately test for free SO₂ in white and red wines.

I tested the new kit and was impressed with the ease of use and accuracy of results. Actually, there were no concerns with test accuracy since the method is identical to what is used in commercial laboratories; it is simply a matter of the equipment being simplified for affordability.

Check it out where you can download instructions and view instructional videos.

Carbonated Beverage Filler

I receive a lot of queries about purchasing the counter-pressure bottler (carbonating system) featured in my book on page 404 of the 2008 edition. The unit has limited distribution; however, I just came across another unit advertized in Vineyard & Winery Management. I have not had a chance to perform a product review, but I thought I'd make you aware of it in the meantime. It retails for US$695; it's not cheap, but if you belong to a club, you can share the cost. The unit is the creation of Mr. Alvin Cohodas, who has extensive experience in industrial gas applications as a food processing consultant, food technologist, and professional winemaker. I'll provide more information soon; in the meantime, take a look at it.











Gas Getter

If you are tired of stirring your wine or waiting for it to degas on its own, worry no longer, the Gas Getter is here to the rescue.

The Gas Getter is the invention of one Rhone Lahr. With a name like that, you'll have confidence in the effectiveness and quality of this winemaking product.

The Gas Getter is a set of attachments and bungs that connect to a compressor (not supplied, available at home reno centers) to degas wine. It is available for degassing one carboy or 4, 6, 10 or 12 carboys for those of you serious winemakers. And if you have fewer carboys to degas than the total number of the model, unused ports can be easily closed off with the supplied plugs. The picture at the left (top) shows a 4-carboy model in operation while the picture at the left (bottom) shows what you get with this model. Prices range from US$69.95 for the one-carboy model to $199.95 for the 12-carboy model, plus shipping.

The one- and 4-carboy models require a 1-HP compressor, the 6-carboy model requires a 2-HP compressor, and the 10- and 12-carboy models require a 5-HP compressor.

I tested the 4-carboy model ($89.95). I snapped all the attachments together and then to the bungs, and then inserted the bungs in the carboys to be degassed. I plugged in the compressor, turned it on, and away it went. It takes approximately 30 minutes to degas 4 carboys of very young wine. Time decreases considerably as the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide gas (CO2) decreases from aging the wine. Be sure to read all instructions and safety warnings carefully.

For more information, visit the Gas Getter website.

FERRARI Automatic Filler Tap

Ferrari has developed a new gravity-fed, easy to use, single-bottle filler for home winemakers: the Automatic Filler Tap.

Simply attach a 5/16, 3/8, or 1/2-inch racking hose, insert the filler into a bottle, insert the racking hose in the carboy, and start the wine flowing by suction. The filler will stop automatically at the adjustable preset level. Transfer the filler to another bottle, press on the flow tap to start the wine flowing again.

And as a bonus, the Automatic Filler Tap comes with an anti-foam attachment that replaces the tap cap at the top of the filler for bottling carbonated wine.

A great investment for $15.99 for small-batch winemakers.

Available at The Wine Maker's Toy Store.






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