A wine thief is a glass or food-grade plastic pipette used in the process of wine making. It may be anywhere from 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 centimetres) in length and may have a bend near one end. The wine thief is used to remove a small amount of wine from a cask, carboy, or other fermentation device for testing. Home winemakers may also use a wine thief in connection with a length of tubing to syphon wine from one container to the other (a process called racking) or to transfer the wine to bottles. Grow and harvest grapes. ... A barrel is a hollow cylindrical container, usually made of wood staves and bound with iron bands. ... A carboy is a glass vessel used in fermenting wine, mead and sometimes beer. ...