Wine Analysis Glassware

Volatile Acid Still

California is home to thousands of wineries, and nearby, the Department of Enology and Viticulture at the University of California at Davis is recognized as a preeminent center for the study of wines and winemaking. It is only natural that specific glassware for the analysis of wine would be developed in California. You can see more of this glassware in the wine analysis gallery, and check out comments from end users.

The Volatile Acid Still is a glass apparatus specific to the wine industry, for the determination of volatile acids in wine by steam distillation.  Adams & Chittenden manufactures the self-evacuating VA Still, offering a high quality product, with an improved cordset and connector, and a large capacity condenser, at competitive prices. Our standard VA still includes a built-in glass aspirator to suck the sample out after completion of the analysis, allowing for rapid cycling of samples.

Its precursor was the glass Cash Still; many people refer to these stills generically as "Cash still" or "RD80". For historical interest, see our notes on the history of the VA Still. We have been making VA Stills and Cash Stills our entire glassblowing careers. We are proud of our stills; they have a high "Wow" factor and demonstrate our skills and quality. For instructions on setup and operation, go  here. There are now Youtube posts featuring this type of glassware in action.

We were honored recently to be asked by the Corning Museum of Glass if we'd consider having our Still featured in a new exhibit. We were also entertained to hear a SoundClip on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" on Hearing a Wine's Acidity featuring the sound of the VA Still.

Volatile Acid Still complete

Glass SO2 Apparatus

Our SO2 Apparatus uses the Aeration-Oxidation method to determine the sulfur dioxide content in wine and cider, both for free and bound SO2, as described by Amerine and Ough in Methods for Analysis of Musts and Wines (John C. Wiley and Sons, 1980). A pop-up photo of this assembly "exploded" is linked here. We also offer the stand and the clamps required.

Follow the link for a Youtube explanation of the use of this type of glassware.

Wine Thief /Barrel Thieves

We manufacture a variety of glass wine thieves, including a curved barrel thief for easy access to close-packed barrel racks. Click here for a link to more photos of various styles of wine thief (barrel thief, glass whiskey thief, etc.).

It's possible to customize the thieves with decaled logos and text, at significant added cost. We can also refer you to our sandblaster, for individual or small quantities.

Please email or call for pricing.

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SO2 Apparatus