Prosecutors revive case against winemaker

Barossa Valley winemaker Trevor Jones is once again facing a possible 10 years in jail after prosecutors relaid a case alleging that he destroyed 25,000l of Chardonnay owned by a rival winemaker.

Barossa winemaker Trevor Jones will stand trial in Adelaide’s district court after prosecutors relaid the case against him

The drinks business reported last month how Jones, owner of Trevor Jones Fine Wines, was found not guilty of four charges damaging property worth in excess of $30,000 (£14,000) at Adelaide Magistrates’ Court.

Jones, 57, was further cleared of one count of damaging property worth between $2,500 and $30,000, alleged to be a Volkswagen car belonging to the Kellermeister Winery, owned by Mark Pearce.

Jones work as a winemaker at Kellermeister until 2010.

It was alleged that he entered the Kellermeister Winery in Barossa earlier this year and destroyed its 2010 and 2011 chardonnay vintages by opening the taps of several tanks.

Jones’s defence said their client had no case to answer, arguing that the allegations were based solely on unclear CCTV footage and “plainly biased” witness statements.

His defence also said that the time and date of the footage did not match those of Jones’s alleged actions, that the fingerprints found on a tank were not his and that there were no traces of mud or wine on the clothes he was supposedly wearing at the time.

They added there was “bad blood” between the Jones and Pearce arising from the way Jones’ employment at Kellermeister had come to an end.

The case was dismissed on the grounds the CCTV footage’s provenance could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Now prosecutors have formally re-laid charges against Jones through a process known as ex tempore prosecution, Adelaide Now has reported. This means Jones will now stand trial in the district court, where he may elect whether the trial is heard by a jury or a judge sitting alone.

If convicted Jones faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in jail.

He will face a pre-trial directions hearing in October.