Virginia winery loses grape harvest in nighttime heist

ELLISTON, Va. – A Virginia winery has lost almost its entire crop of grapes in a nighttime theft, just hours before it was to be harvested.

Firefly Hill Vineyards co-owner Allison Dunkenberger told The Roanoke Times on Wednesday that the more than 2 tons (1.8 metric tons) of grapes were worth up to $25,000, and not covered by insurance. Authorities are investigating.

Dunkenberger says the theft could have only been orchestrated by people familiar with the winery’s operations.

Her husband, David Dunkenberger, didn’t mince words in a Facebook post addressing the “cowardly, human scum” behind the theft: “May you die a slow and agonizingly painful death so that when you are writhing in pain someone will be kind enough to offer you a drink of wine so you know for what you suffer.”

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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com