In winemaking, your tubing is the lifeline between your vessels. Choosing the wrong material can lead to oxidized wine, "plastic" off-flavors, or a stalled siphon due to kinking. Whether you are racking off the lees or bottling a prize vintage, here is how to choose the right tool for the job.
1. Quick Reference: Material Specifications
| Material | Temp Limit | Oxygen Barrier | Primary Wine Uses |
| Vinyl (Clear) | 158°F | Low | Siphoning, Racking, Bottling |
| Nutriflex | 158°F | Medium | Must transfer, Heavy-duty racking, Pump lines |
| EVABarrier | 212°F | Superior | Gas-to-tank lines, Pressurized transfers, Draft wine |
| Silicone | 500°F | Low | Hot water cleaning, Gravity transfers |
| Reinforced Vinyl | 158°F | Low | Chiller lines, Pressurized transfers |
2. Choosing Your Material
Vinyl (The Racking Standard)
Best for: General racking (moving wine from carboy to carboy) and bottling.
The Catch: Standard vinyl is highly permeable to oxygen. It’s fine for a quick transfer, but never leave wine sitting in vinyl lines for extended periods, or it will oxidize and take on a "plastic" Tygon-like taste.
Tip: If the tubing becomes cloudy or stiff, it’s time to replace it.
Nutriflex (The "Un-kinkable" Workhorse)
Best for: Moving large volumes of wine or must, especially when using a pump.
Why: It features an external "helix" reinforcement that prevents the hose from collapsing under suction. It is designed to handle the acidity of wine and the weight of heavy sediment (lees) without kinking mid-transfer.
EVABarrier (Anti-Microbial Oxygen Guard)
Best for: Pressurized transfers and "Wine on Tap" systems.
Why: This is a double-walled tubing. The inner layer is a silver-ion polymer that is incredibly smooth (preventing tartrate buildup), while the outer layer acts as a literal shield against oxygen.
Use Case: If you are pushing wine from a variable volume tank to a keg or filler using CO2 or Nitrogen, this is the only tubing that guarantees zero oxygen pickup.
Silicone (High Flexibility)
Best for: Short gravity transfers or high-heat cleaning cycles.
Note: While very easy to sanitize and heat-resistant, silicone is very gas-permeable. Use it for "active" movements only, not for long-term setups.
3. Sizing & Connections
Common Sizes (Inner Diameter - ID)
5/16" ID: The standard size for most home-scale racking canes and "Auto-Siphons."
3/8" ID: A "high-flow" racking size. Fits larger stainless racking canes and provides a faster transfer for 6–10 gallon batches.
1/2" ID: The standard for most wine pumps (like the Enolmatic or Marchisio setups). Matches 1/2" NPT hardware.
3/4" - 1"+ ID: Used for "Must" transfer (grapes and juice) from the crusher/destemmer to the fermenter.
Line Length Recommendations
Racking & Siphoning: Keep these lines between 4-6 feet. If the line is too long, you create "loops" where CO2 can break out of the wine, causing air pockets that stall your siphon.
Pump Suction: Keep the hose from the tank to the pump as short as possible (under 3 feet) to prevent the pump from struggling or "cavitating."
Gas Lines: Length is less critical for gas; 6-10 feet allows you to move your Nitrogen or CO2 tank around the cellar easily.
4. Professional Connections
Barbs & Oetiker Clamps: For a permanent, leak-proof seal on your pump or filler, use Stepless Oetiker Clamps. Unlike worm-gear clamps, they provide 360° even pressure, ensuring no oxygen is sucked into the line.
"Hot Water Trick": If a 5/16" hose won't fit over a 3/8" barb, dip the end of the tubing in boiling water for 10 seconds. It will stretch easily and "shrink-fit" onto the barb as it cools.
Duotight Fittings: If using EVABarrier, use Duotight push-in fittings. They eliminate the need for clamps and allow you to disconnect your lines for cleaning in seconds.