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glass wine thief
Uzi wanted a wine thief for Christmas. A fancy hand-blown glass wine thief to replace the plastic one he’s had for the last six years. The theory is that if wine tastes better in a fancy wine glass, like a Reidel, maybe it will also taste better from a classy glass thief.
Ever tried to track down a wine thief? Conjures up images of empty wine bottles strewn along a trail of red footprints, doesn’t it? No, a wine thief is a tool used to draw out small amounts of wine from a barrel for tasting. Lucky for me there happens to be a Berkeley business that makes hand-blown glass objects and tools for labs…including wine thieves.
Regarding his theory, the glass wine thief may not affect the flavors and aromas of the wine like the shape of a wine glass will do, but it does enhance the barrel sampling process: it shows off the color of the wine and it just looks great. Uzi shall never have to taste a barrel-drawn sample of our wine from a plastic utensil again. Just don’t drop it on the concrete floor!
January 6, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Glass thieves are the best, but the don’t look as great when they are not thoroughly cleaned (I have seen some nasty stained ones) and do break EASILY on concrete winery floors.
Enjoy the thieving!
January 7, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I must say that Uzi keeps our cellar and everything in it cleaner than I can keep the rest of the house but thank you, wtg, for that important reminder–we do want to keep the thief gleaming!
April 22, 2009 at 6:07 am
Just how DOES one clean a wine thief? I recently picked one up, quite nice with an elegant form and design of grapes on it. It is relatively clean but has a slight amount of calcium on it where somebody rinsed it but didn’t hang it to dry. How can I get rid of that?!
April 22, 2009 at 8:55 am
I clean mine after each use with hot water and then soak for a couple minutes in 100 ppm sulfite and citric acid solution. hand to dry.
If you have a buildup, I’d let it soak in a sodium percarbonate solution in hot water for an hour se if it de solves. If all else fail, I’d devise a tiny brush on a string to pull thru from one end to the other. Like a pipe cleaner on a string. 😉
April 23, 2009 at 2:46 am
Thanks! I live in the Netherlands and in the process of looking up what products here have sodium percarbonate in them I ran across the information that it could actually cause calcium build-up (only if you leave it a long time, though, I assume). That site suggested cleaning with a vinegar solution to remove the calcium, and since I had vinegar on hand, I tried that. It seems to have worked. It takes a long time to dry inside, though.
Do you know of any sites that provide information/history about thieves, I’m rather curious about where mine might originate. Germany would be my guess, but…
April 23, 2009 at 9:59 am
I am glad Vinegar worked.
You might want to try here: http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php
which is a forum about winemaking in the US. I am not sure they will have history, but they might prove helpful in additional information.
November 15, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I carry a custom wine thief made of “pyrex” or lab glass. It measures 24″ and is bowed. I clean mine with rock salt and alcohol!! Check it out on my website Glass Mountain
November 15, 2009 at 4:36 pm
That’s a nice one, looks familiar…. did you make one for Tracy at D&G?