Harvest — It’s That Time Of Year . . .

. . . when thieves steal grapes straight off the vines:

Thieves using a harvesting machine have stolen the entire crop of a Languedoc-Roussillon vineyard.

Grower Roland Cavaille his vineyards in Villeneuve-les-Beziers were targetted on Sunday night. Thieves took advantage of a full moon, and used a harvesting machine to steal 30 tonnes of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

You might be wondering, as I was, how one steals an entire vineyard, but the folks at Château Bauduc in the Bordeaux region say that it’s not as difficult as you would think:

One feature of so many Châteaux, which most wine lovers are unaware of, is just how spread out the parcels can be. Although some Châteaux, like the 33 hectares of Troplong Mondot in St-Emilion, have vines that surround the Château as a single entity, this is surprisingly unusual. A few of the great Cru Classés of the Médoc have as many as 40 to 50 different plots, many of which are quite a trek from the Château itself.

. . .

With a small amount of local knowledge, it wouldn’t be tricky to steal grapes under cover of darkness.

The sight and sound of harvesting machines, with tractors and trailers in tow, is very common right now. Around St-Emilion today, for example, I saw at least 20 machines in operation.

And it’s not just this one story — thieves also hit a Washington vineyard recently:

Sometime between Sept. 15 and Monday, someone slipped into Grand Reve Vineyard near Col Solare and took about 1.25 tons of Mourvedre, valued at about $4,000. Benton County sheriff’s officials have no suspects.

. . .

It’s not the first time grapes have been stolen on Red Mountain. [Grand Reve vineyard manager and partner Ryan] Johnson, who also manages the world-renowned Ciel du Cheval vineyard across from Kiona Vineyards Winery on Sunset Road, remembers in 2001 when someone went into a Cabernet Sauvignon block and stole several hundred pounds of grapes.

Johnson’s operation is high profile, literally and figuratively. His vineyard is just above iconic Col Solare and is the highest on Red Mountain, making the vineyard easily visible from Interstate 82. His operation also has received a lot of press from wine publications. This vineyard was planted in 2008.

“It’s a bit isolated up there, especially when Col Solare is closed,” he said. “If I was going to be a jerk, I’d steal from Ciel du Cheval or Klipsun, but you’d be more likely to get caught. There are not a lot of lights up by Grand Reve.”

If the thieves came in the middle of the night, they would have had to use five-gallon buckets pick the grapes, then dump them into a pickup, which a ton of grapes likely would fill. Something like that would take more than an hour, he figured. Johnson said whoever stole that amount of grapes likely is making a commercial wine “or a whole lot of garage wine.”