Thieves steal two hundred thousand euros’ worth of wine from the wine cellar of Madrid restaurant Coque
If you’re familiar with the phenomenon of wine auctions, you may know that exceptional bottles of wine really do change hands for a great deal of money. We don’t know whether stolen bottles are ever offered for sale, but the owners of Spanish restaurant Coque in Madrid will be keeping a very close eye on things…
Because recently, thieves broke into Madrid restaurant Coque, which is owned by three brothers, one of whom is the sommelier. The wine cellar held a staggering approximately twenty-five thousand bottles, and what makes it even more heartbreaking?
Sentimental value
Some of the stolen bottles had still belonged to their grandfather, says Rafael Sandoval, the restaurant’s sommelier. “I don’t know whether the theft insurance will cover this, but the sentimental value can never be compensated anyway,” says Sandoval. Among them were bottles from the 1920s and 1930s, and the awful thing is that the thieves were highly targeted and knew exactly which bottles to take from the enormous collection. Wine worth around two hundred thousand euros was stolen.
Fire damage
Fortunately, no one was injured, but the emotional damage will be difficult to compensate for, even if the insurance does pay out. It also reminds us of the fire not long ago at Amsterdam’s restaurant 212, which rendered countless bottles of wine unusable – just as unbelievably painful and sad for the owners. We wish everyone affected plenty of strength!
Source: Food and Wine, image: Getty Images
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