Share

Intruder at Spain winery pours away wine worth R51 million

accreditation
0:00
play article
Subscribers can listen to this article
An intruder spilled wine worth millions at a Spain winery on Sunday.
An intruder spilled wine worth millions at a Spain winery on Sunday.
Mikhail Mordasov/AFP
  • The winery said the amount of high-end wine that was lost could have filled 80 000 bottles.
  • The incident happened on Sunday morning.
  • The head of the establishment, Jose Moro said no items were stolen during the break-in.


Nearly 60 000 litres of premium red wine worth some R51 million were lost at a Spanish winery after someone broke this weekend and opened the vats, the winery said on Tuesday.

Security camera footage released by the renowned Cepa 21 winery in the Ribera del Duero region of central Spain 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 3:30 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 euros (R51 million).

The head of the establishment, Jose Moro, told Spanish public television TVE it was clear the intruder's sole purpose was to damage the business since no items were stolen during the break-in.

READ | Hungarian bookstore evades R630 000 fine due to missing comma in LGBTQ law

"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 told the station.

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 police, who confirmed to AFP they have launched an enquiry.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
67% - 1070 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
33% - 518 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.76
+1.4%
Rand - Pound
23.43
+0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.08
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.25
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
924.10
-0.0%
Palladium
959.00
+0.1%
Gold
2,337.68
0.0%
Silver
27.19
-0.0%
Brent Crude
89.50
+0.6%
Top 40
69,358
+1.3%
All Share
75,371
+1.4%
Resource 10
62,363
+0.4%
Industrial 25
103,903
+1.3%
Financial 15
16,161
+2.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE