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Watch: Bear caught on camera stealing Pinot Noir grapes from vineyard

A bear with expensive taste has been caught on camera sampling high elevation Pinot Noir grapes from a vineyard in Mendocino, California.


The crafty caniform was caught on camera by Anderson Valley-based Navarro Vineyards after the producer installed CCTV at their high elevation Upper Marking Corral vineyard.

In a Facebook post, vineyard workers said the site in question was due to be harvested in a few weeks time.

“Navarro’s taste-tester is back to ‘get it when the gettin’ is good’. As we’re continuing our harvest, our night time friend continues to munch on Pinot Noir from our high-elevation vineyards. We’ll be ready to harvest these grapes in the next few weeks, so hopefully this big guy leaves some for us,” the Facebook post read.

Back in August, the vineyard posted a similar video capturing a range of nocturnal vineyard visitors including foxes, rodents and a bear.

Navarro was established in 1973 in coastal Mendocino by Ted Bennett and Deborah Cahn, and continues to be run by the family and their children.

As well as Pinot Noir, the vineyard grows Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Muscat Blanc.

Second generation owner Aaron Bennett said in a Facebook message that he believed there were at least three bears in the area, believed to be a male and female bear with a cub.

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