Thieves steal 1,000 pounds of grapes from vineyard

By Faye Mayern

The owner of an award-winning British vineyard has been left "disheartened" after thieves stole about 500 kg (1,100 lb) of grapes "to make wine in their garage."

Lee Dyer, from Winbirri Vineyard in Surlingham, Norfolk, said the theft from the family-run business would amount to around 400 bottles of wine.

The pilfering was discovered on Sept. 28 when workers harvesting discovered two 120 m-long rows had been targeted.

Award-winning Winbirri Vineyard produces Bacchus wine, often referred to as "England's Sauvignon Blanc," with an elderflower flavor.

Winbirri Vineyard sells its famous Bacchus wine for six bottles at $155 or six bottles of their sparkling variety for $180.

Dyer, who took over the business from his father in 2010, said: "The only use of the crop in this way would be for a group or an individual to make wine in a garage.

"You can't show up to a vineyard and say I've got grapes to sell - a paper trail has to be achieved and negotiations have to be arranged in advance.

"Alarm bells would be ringing.

"Wine grapes, especially with Bacchus, don't have enough flesh to be an eating grape.

"This year, every bottle of wine we produce is from grapes we have grown.

"If we don't have that 500kg of grapes, it's 400 bottles or so of wine we can't produce.

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"We can only harvest this crop twice per year so we can't get that back."

Dyer has reported the incident to Norfolk Police but said this was not the first time they have been victims of theft, albeit smaller.

The 33-acre site is covered by security cameras except for some areas of crop, but Dyer said he would now be installing tighter security.

He said: "Before, it's been on a microscale. Last year we had one customer who caught a group with electric bikes and trailers to put the grapes in.

"You wouldn't necessarily see if a few bunches had been taken out of the whole crop, so this was definitely more than one person.

"Before the theft, we had people visiting the vineyard asking strange questions which people usually wouldn't ask with wandering eyes.

"Then the crop was gone and no more strange visits."

Winbirri Vineyard was founded in 2007 by local farmer Stephen Dyer, Lee's father, and became the first significant wine-making estate in Norfolk.

Lee Dyer added: "The most disturbing thing is that out there is somebody who thinks it's okay to walk onto someone else's property, steal the grapes and think there's loads there, it doesn't matter.

"We work seven days a week and it's a whole family involvement. It's the fruits of your labor.

"You go to all that effort growing but at the last minute, someone feels it's fine to swipe it all."

Norfolk Police confirmed they had received a report of theft.