Stolen: Two-and-a-half tons of grapes from the vines of a Virginia vineyard - Sensationalist Headlines

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/stolen-two-and-a-half-tons-of-grapes-from-the-vines-of-a-virginia-vineyard/2018/09/13/5afbca0a-b75b-11e8-a7b5-adaaa5b2a57f_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e1e57a61b092 The thieves allegedly arrived in the dark of night and worked quietly and meticulously to steal their items — 2½ tons of grapes that the owner of the Virginia vineyard says were on the cusp of being harvested. It’s a loss worth $50,000 in supplies, labor and potential wine sales for Firefly Hill Vineyards in Elliston, near the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 20 miles from Roanoke. David Dunkenberger, who has owned the family-run vineyard for 12 years, said he doesn’t know who could have taken the grapes or what the thieves might plan to do with them. He said he doubts another winery would purchase grapes without knowing their history and suspects the thieves might try to sell them outside the area. “I can handle losing a crop to Mother Nature, but to come in and take my crop in the middle of the night and steal what we’ve worked for for eight months, that’s disheartening,” he said.

As a farmer I honestly feel him, going to your crops just to see a plain field robbed of everything is a scary thought

Update: https://wtop.com/consumer-news/2018/09/west-coast-winery-aids-va-vineyard-hit-by-grape-heist/ West Coast winery aids Va. vineyard hit by grape heist IRONTO, Va. (AP) — Despite the theft of nearly its entire crop of grapes, a Virginia winery will be able to raise a glass of its 2018 vintage to a new friendship. The Roanoke Times reports Washington state’s Alexandria Nicole Cellars has offered to donate the replacement for more than 2 tons of grapes stolen from Firefly Hills Vineyard two weeks ago. Firefly co-owner Allison Dunkenberger says they’ve received in-state offers, too, despite the rain that hurt this year’s crop. But the Pacific Northwest had a great grape year, and her husband is set to fly out this week to help harvest them. No leads on the theft have been reported. Virginia Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Elaine Lidholm says grape heists have happened in France and California, but were previously unheard of in Virginia.

How the fuck do you fence 2 tons of grapes?

historically speaking, you step on them

Moonshiners, sell it marketplaces under the cover of being a legitimate dealer, or even fence it at farmer's markets.

Why would you steal a bunch of high quality grapes and then turn them into moonshine?

moonshine is some good shit

desperate hick housewives are a thing

Depending on how high you get the proof, fruit/berry-based moonshines can sell for a lot of money. We are talking about $110 ~ $200 per gallon. Using high quality grapes would also mean a better flavor overall, so... Yeah. Theirs money to be made.

I was at a concert at a winery a couple weeks ago. The entry line went through the vinyards using the grapevines as barriers. Thought that was a really cool idea. The grapes aren't that big though, they were smaller than the usual supermarket grapes. I think you'd have to be there a long time or have a lot of people to steal 2 tons...

Literally, in certain people's cases.