Thieves strip 8,000 square metres of German vines

Unknown perpetrators have stolen almost all the ripe Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc grapes from two vineyards in Gundheim, Rhineland-Palatinate. Police believe the raid, carried out between 6 and 14 September, cost the growers several thousand euros in lost fruit.

Two independent winemakers arrived to begin harvest only to find rows of bare vines. The theft covered around 8,000 square metres, according to Rhineland-Palatinate police, who described the approach as highly professional.

“Due to the amount of stolen goods, it must be assumed that at least one larger vehicle or several means of transport were used,” police said. The case remains under investigation, with officers appealing for witnesses who may have noticed suspicious vehicles near Gundheim.

Echoes of past German grape heists

This is not the first time German vineyards have been plundered. In 2018, thieves in Haßloch used a mechanical harvester to cart off 1,600 kg of Riesling worth about €8,000, according to local media reports cited by The Local Germany.

In an even more audacious case in 2011, about 2,500 kg of Spätburgunder were stolen overnight from Deidesheim’s Weingut Von Winning. The haul, valued at roughly €100,000, was described by the German Wine Institute as the work of professionals, as per Der Spiegel. Investigators at the time suggested rival vintners hit by frost or hail could have been behind the theft.

France grapples with similar thefts

Across the border in France, Jura producers have also suffered. In 2022, thieves stripped 0.85 hectares of Chardonnay belonging to grower Paul Bonin, leaving him just 10 kg of grapes. “That means another year without income… It is a blow to the head,” Bonin told France 3.

Other Jura vineyards lost 2,500 kg in a single raid the previous year. Local authorities responded with mounted patrols, though thieves still struck again.