Over a period of 15 years, a 56-year-old man in France is alleged to have stolen a total of 7,000 bottles of wine valued at around half a million euros. The victims are said to be various employers of the man, who was last employed at a wine house in Burgundy – where he was supposedly caught on surveillance camera stealing four bottles of wine, which led to his employer filing charges, as the newspaper Journal de Saône-et-Loire first reported.
The wine trade publication La Revue du vin de France, citing information from the news agency AFP, reports that the man has been placed under judicial supervision. The trial is scheduled to begin on August 6, 2024, according to the Dijon prosecutor's office.
After being reported by his employer, the man's house was searched and thousands of bottles of wine were allegedly found in various cellars - including in his mother's house - some of which could be attributed to his current employer and some to previous employers, all wine houses in the area around Beaune (Burgundy). This includes some Grand Crus from the renowned commune of Vosne-Romanée valued at over €1,000 per bottle. However, it appears to be a case of a kleptomaniac private collector – according to the prosecutor's office, "the proceedings indicate that he has not resold a single bottle." VM
