Around 60,000 litres of premium red wine worth approximately €2.5 million were lost at a Spanish winery at the weekend, after someone broke in and opened the vats, the winery said on Tuesday.
Security camera footage released by the prestigious Cepa 21 winery in the Ribera del Duero area in the province of Burgos (Castilla y León) showed a person in a hoodie running from one large vat to another and turning on the taps, causing wine to pour out onto the floor.
The incident happened at around 3:30am on Sunday, the winery said.
The amount of high-end wine that was lost could have filled 80,000 bottles and was worth an estimated €2.5 million.
The head of the winery, José Moro, told Spanish national broadcaster RTVE that it was clear the intruder’s sole purpose was to damage the business, since no items were stolen during the break-in.
‘It’s a case of doing harm for the sake of doing harm, by someone who can’t be very balanced, hasn’t got much common sense and is acting out of hatred,’ he said.
Moro said the intruder would have had to know how to operate the system to open the vats. ‘Everything indicates the person knew where they were,’ he added.
The winery has filed a complaint with the police, who have launched an enquiry. Spanish media have suggested that the suspect intruder is a woman, and that it is a work-related crime or personal revenge.
🔴Asalto a la bodega Cepa 21: sabotean 60.000 litros de vino valorados en más de 2,5 millones
— La Vanguardia (@LaVanguardia) February 19, 2024
👉https://t.co/sWs1FJS2Jx
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