Norfolk vineyard loses 500kg of grapes, enough for 400 bottles
Thieves stole 500kg of grapes from Winbirri Vineyard in Surlingham, Norfolk, leaving several rows stripped bare. The theft has cost the family-run business a season’s work and could mean fewer bottles of its own wine, while prompting the owner to consider extra security.
Owner Lee Dyer said the grapes were worth about £1,000, but could have produced around 400 bottles worth about £8,000. He suspects the crop may be used to make wine privately, as selling wine grapes involves regulations and advance arrangements. Norfolk Police confirmed they had received a report; the vineyard has experienced smaller-scale thefts before.
- 500kg of grapes were stolen from a Norfolk vineyard.
- The crop could have made around 400 bottles of wine.
- The owner is considering motion-activated cameras.
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English vineyards produce wine from grapes grown on their own land, a process that takes many months from planting through harvest. The theft at Winbirri Vineyard removed a significant portion of what would have been this year's crop, leaving the business without the fruit it needs to produce its own wine.
The value of the grapes themselves is modest, but the finished wine would have been worth substantially more. Losing a season's harvest represents not just the cost of the fruit but months of labour tending the vines, with no product to sell at the end of it.
Small vineyards often operate on tight margins, with significant investment required during the growing season. Theft of crops presents particular challenges because stolen fruit cannot easily be traced or recovered once it has been processed into wine or other products.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Thieves steal 500kg of grapes from award-winning British vineyard as rows of plants are ‘completely stripped bare’”.