Thieves making away with grapes is not a new phenomenon but it has surged this year apparently because of a disastrous yield.
“There’s a great temptation to help oneself from [the vineyard] next door,” an industry expert told AFP on condition of anonymity.
France faces its poorest wine harvest since 1945 after an unusually mild March and frosty April, experts said last month, although a hot summer promises to deliver top vintages.
The Agriculture Ministry said output was expected to total 37.2 million hectoliters (983 million US gallons), 18 percent less than 2016 and 17 percent below the average over the past five years.
The 2016 harvest was already one of the poorest in 30 years.
This year, bitter cold struck twice within a week in April, ravaging the fragile shoots and buds that had emerged prematurely following mild temperatures in March.
To combat the frost, nervous Bordeaux winemakers set fires in oil drums, then positioned them carefully between the rows of budding grapevines. Giant fans were also deployed to battle the cold, damp air settling on the plants.
Source: Tons of grapes are stolen during France’s wine harvest