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Thieves steal 700 kilos of grapes from Swiss vineyard

Winegrowers in the lake of Biel area are concerned for the safety of their crops after thieves made off with 300 kilos of pinot noir and 400 kilos of chasselas grapes from one vineyard.

Published: 20 October 2017 08:48 CEST

Thieves steal 700 kilos of grapes from Swiss vineyard

The Seeland district is famed for its vineyards. photo:swiss-image.ch/Stefan Weber

They believe professionals were at work and could strike again.

Red pinot noir and white chasselas grapes are the most common varieties grown in Switzerland.

According to newspaper reports, thieves broke into a vineyard near Ins in the Bernese Seeland district at the end of September.

Winegrower Lorenz Hämmerli said the protective nets covering his pinot noir vines had been cut at the sides.

The brazen thieves had simply picked the chasselas grapes from the vines along the roadside, Hämmerli said.

He said several people had probably been involved.

A neighbour noticed torchlight coming from the vineyard at 3am on the night of September 23rd, but believing it was the vintner himself checking on the crops, did not alert the police.

Although the grapes make up just a small percentage of Hämmerli’s total stock, he is angry at the loss, having put a lot of work into ensuring a good crop of grapes.

Swiss winegrowers have had a difficult year, with frost and hail destroying crops in some places.

READ ALSO: Frost proves catastrophic for Swiss winegrowers

A spokesperson for Bern cantonal police said it was the first time a grape theft had been reported in the area, which has about 246 hectares of vines.

What is Switzerland's 'one franc vineyards' scheme - and is it legit?

Earlier in Spring, news broke of a new scheme where Swiss vineyards were available for just one franc.

As with similar stories offering one franc plots of land or houses, the news spread far and wide – which of course was the point – while some eventually became disappointed.

READ MORE: Gambarogno: The latest Swiss village to sell houses for one franc

While it’s likely to cost you a good deal more than one franc, if owning a Swiss vineyard (or at least part of it) is on your bucket list, you now have an opportunity to do so.

Why are Swiss vineyards going cheap?

With nearly 5,000 hectares of vineyards and 60 different grape varieties, Valais is Switzerland’s largest wine-growing region.

Unfortunately, 20 percent of the canton’s vines are abandoned and municipalities must uproot them because they can’t find people willing to cultivate them.

A case in point is the community of Savièse, nestled in a picturesque Alpine valley. About 120 plots — four to five hectares — of its vineyards were abandoned by their owners and therefore not harvested last year, as the commune can’t find people to do the work.

This is a serious case of neglect because “when a vine is not pruned, there is a period of one year to uproot it. Otherwise, there is a risk of spreading disease”, according to Savièse’s mayor, Sylvain Dumoulin.

“There are some vines where we need to do this now, and I fear the number will increase in the future”, he added.

How much does a plot cost?

In order to protect its winemaking traditions in general and abandoned plots in particular, the municipality has launched a new vines-saving project which includes a “stock exchange” of sorts for the sale and purchase of abandoned parcels.

READ MORE: EXPLAINED: How to drink wine like a Swiss

Dumoulin didn’t reveal the cost of a plot of vineyard, as it depends on its location, condition and other factors.

Unfortunately, while you may have seen articles reporting that parcels are being sold for “a symbolic one franc”, this is more than likely a marketing ploy to attract attention than a realistic price.

Savièse’s vineyards. Screenshot, Savièse.ch

“The main long-term objective is to encourage the grouping of plots and thus the rationalisation of the exploitation of these parcels”, Dumoulin told The Local.

He added that currently the project is “exclusively accessible for people who already own vineyards. But from July it will be open to anyone with an interest in purchasing vineyard areas”.

From then on, “anyone can download the application to find plots of vines for sale and to make their owner a price proposal”.

The app, called “Vignoble Savièse” can be purchased in Apple or Google stores.

One example of such a gimmick was the Ticino town of Gambarogno, located on the shores of Lake Maggiore, which offered houses for one franc.

‘Impossible’: Why Switzerland’s one franc homes are too good to be true

As The Local reported, “the news – along with pictures of the Ticino countryside and the lake itself – spread across the globe, with people inside and outside of Switzerland letting themselves dream”.

However, the “rustic houses with the view of the lake” turned out to be nothing more than ruins, with no roofs, windows, electricity or running water, situated in remote locations — about an hour’s walk from the nearest village.

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