barmalini/iStockBy KELLY MCCARTHY, ABC News
(ROUGEMONT, Quebec) — As winemakers in Quebec prepared to harvest grapes after months of careful viticulture, they arrived to a depleted vineyard that had been picked over by thieves.
The unknown suspects stole more than 1,0000 pounds of Vidal blanc grapes — nearly half a ton, which equals almost 300 bottles — the evening before harvest at Vignoble et Coteau Rougemont vineyard.
“We had nearly 500 kilograms of grapes stolen from the vineyard last night,” the winery said Thursday in a Facebook post translated from French. “We met the police this morning to file a complaint. We are offering a reward of five cases of wine for anyone who will help us pin down these unscrupulous thieves.”
A spokesman from the vineyard and winery told ABC News on Tuesday that “so far, nobody has been caught or charged in relations to this event.”
The winery shared additional updates on social media and explained that, due to the unfortunate events, they “hurried to complete the Vidal harvest” over the weekend, but were still optimistic about the yield, “despite the missing 500 kilograms!”
“Thank you greatly for your messages of encouragement following yesterday morning’s event,” the winery said in response to the support on Facebook.
It also shared a photo of the last parcel of Vidal blanc, a hybrid white wine varietal with high sugar content and moderate to high acidity, that was harvested to make its White Slope 2020 vintage.
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