Ever since California wines took the top prizes in 1976 at the international wine competition that year, the world-class wines have continued their ever broadening impact across the globe. And while that might be something you’ll discover on any given wine country tours or read about in wine publications, it would likely come as a surprise to discover that those wonderful wines are now being used as payoff in the now commonplace Somali pirating debacle.
The recent addition of US and European war vessels patrolling the waters of Africa’s north eastern coast have not managed to thwart the pirates’ efforts and another cargo ship was hijacked for ransom recently. This one held hundreds of cases of California wine destined for Dubai – the result of California having to reach farther across the globe to find sales in a down market. Interestingly, the pirates had initiated their ransom demands much as they had done dozens of times previously, but upon hearing of 250 cases of cabernet from northern California’s wine country which consisted of expensive bottles at hundreds of dollars per bottle, they promptly discontinued their ransom pursuits and went about making off with the cabernet.
As it is the responsibility of the wine producers to make good on the delivery, the loss is being felt at home in Napa Valley. The potential loss is such that some vintners are rumored to have hired private investigators to retrieve the stolen goods, but that remains unsubstantiated, as does the rumor that this might have been a wild public relations stunt to get some press for the wines during a slow sales period.
