Two separate and unrelated wine heists on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean have resulted in a combined $356,570-worth of stolen wine, reported only weeks apart.
The first robbery took place between 8pm on June 17 and 6.30am on June 18 in Curbridge, a village in Hampshire, England. Thieves looted several hundred cases of wine from a warehouse on Bury Farm Industrial Estate, which contained wines belonging to independent company Alexander Hadleigh.
In total, the value of the stolen wine amounted to about $156,850 (£100,000). Delwyn Taylor, owner of Alexander Hadleigh, told The Southern Daily Echo that the theft was a "devastating blow to the business."
Police have only recently released information about the incident. The Western Wards Gazette writes that investigator Jerry King said in a statement that “much of the stolen wine can be easily identified as the victims are the only company to import the wine into England.
Meanwhile, authorities in British Columbia are looking for information surrounding the theft of 5,200 bottles of wine from Blackwood Lane Vineyards and Winery in the city of Langley. The theft was reported July 19, and is thought to have occurred sometime after 6 p.m. the day before.
The Canadian heist amounted to $199,720 (CAD$200,000) in stolen wine, which includes three pallets of 2007 Alliance, one pallet each of Cabernet Sauvignon and rosé and one pallet and 16 cases of 2006 Alliance.
The loss was particularly traumatic because, as owner Carlos Lee told Langley Advance, the winery only makes 1,000 to 5,000 cases of wine a year. The vineyard, founded in 2005, has grown in popularity in recent years, serving its wine in five-star restaurants in Canada and abroad and some eateries in Asia. Bottles sell for up to $150 each.
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