Cepa 21, a winery in Spain’s Ribera del Duero region, lost approximately $2.7 million in wine this weekend when an intruder raided the premises and spilled 60,000 liters of its supply.
CCTV footage from the break-in captured a hooded figure moving between tanks on the winery floor and rapidly opening them around 3:30 a.m. local time on Sunday. In total, five tanks were opened, though only three actually contained wine. According to a representative for Cepa 21, the emptied tanks held two of the winery’s most prized reds: Horcajo and Malabrigo.
While the perpetrator hasn’t yet been found, the winery believes the suspect to be someone with intimate knowledge of the property. In a conversation with the BBC, a representative for Cepa 21 said that without prior knowledge, it is “very hard to open the tanks” as they are equipped with a security mechanism.
“This person was moving very smoothly [across the winery grounds], even though it was dark and there was no light,” the representative commented. “This must be a person who knows the grounds well.”
As nothing was stolen during the break-in, Cepa 21 winemaker Jose Moro believes the sole purpose of the incident was to damage the business. In an interview with Spain’s public television network, Moro argued that the break-in was “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.”
A police investigation is currently underway.
