Today on its website, Italy’s national daily Corriere della Sera reports that an ex-employee of the Case Basse winery has been arrested and charged with an act of “sabotage.” (On Sunday December 2, 2012, 60,000 liters of highly valued wine were destroyed when a vandal entered the winery and opened the valves of the large casks that contained the wine, allowing the wine to pour out on to the cellar floor.)
According to the report, the man, 39, had been angered by the fact that he had not been provided with lodging on the estate.
The vandalism, said authorities, was an act of retribution.
The arrest was revealed in a press conference held today in Siena where Fabrizio Bindocci, president of the Brunello producers association, and Siena mayor Silvio Franceschelli assured journalists that there had been no mafia involvement.
Above: I took this photo of ripened fruit on the Soldera estate in 2010, one of the vintages lost in the act of “sabotage” by an ex-employee.
That’s one way to get lodging.
Oh my, intrigue in Montalcino! Joe
[...] “The report, chronicled by the Do Bianchi blog, suggested that the 39-year-old suspect, who was not identified, was angry because he had not been given lodging on the estate. In retribution, the authorities said, he entered the winery this month and emptied the large casks in which six vintages of wine had been aging. The loss came to nearly 84,000 bottles. The 2006 Soldera, the last vintage released, was selling for $250 to $350 a bottle before the crime.” [...]
[...] also Do Bianchi’s report and Eater.com’s report on the [...]