I was doing my usual search on the internet and found out that about a month ago, 636 cases of Italian wine worth £40,000 were stolen from a delivery truck in Hertfordshire, England, close to the depot where the wines are usually stored.
Now, I’m in no way condoning what the thieves did, but a part of me does envy them a bit. I mean, imagine all those bottles of Italian wine! Mmmmm…. the heaviness of each case when carried, each one containing exquisite bottles of Chianti Classico, Pinot Grigio or Moscato d’Asti (other makes of wines stolen included Cabernet Sauvignon, Rosso di Montalcino and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia).
Obviously, the thieves weren’t thinking about the cases from a wine-lover’s point of view – they were obviously thinking about the money they could make from them. They probably didn’t care to sample a bottle or two, take a moment to appreciate the smell and savour the taste – neither did they choose to pick up a couple of bottles and take them home to their wives or girlfriends.
The wine company that fell victim to the theft is called Liberty Wines - I see no mention of the incident on their website. My guess is perhaps they are choosing to concentrate on the positive – such as the 10 trophy awards they received for the 2008 International Wine Challenge.
While the Italian-wine industry, like most industries, has had its fair share of ups and downs (more downs, recently, what with one or two Italian wine producers coming under suspicion for their practices), if this incident is the worst that can happen (as unfortunate as it was), then I think it’s somewhat of a blessing.
I hope you started your weekend with a nice glass of your favourite wine. (and if you didn’t, well, there’s always next weekend!)
Ciao!
(img by: Joe Shlabotnik)