Top 10 most valuable wine and spirits heists in history
Even as the Louvre jewel theft dominates headlines, the world of fine wine and spirits has its own rich history of high-value heists. From a forklift in Bethnal Green to a beauty queen in Cáceres, the cellar can be every bit as tempting as a gallery wall.
1. California cellar swap US$2.7m
George Osumi did not need power tools. Over four years at Legend Cellars in Irvine he quietly swapped fine Burgundy and Bordeaux for cheap supermarket wine. The scheme netted US$2.7 million and many of the bottles have never been recovered.
2. Champagne on the job £1.5m
In 2015, thieves broke into Berry Bros. & Rudd’s warehouse in Basingstoke, opened a bottle of Moët & Chandon on site and made off with £1.5 million worth of fine wine. No one has ever been caught.
3. A beauty queen and a cellar key €1.65m
A former beauty queen and her partner enjoyed a 14-course dinner at Atrio in Cáceres before using a stolen keycard to take 45 bottles, including an 1806 Château d’Yquem. The value was €1.65 million and the wine is still missing.
4. A warehouse wiped clean $1.6m
In 2023 a crew disabled alarms, silenced cameras and loaded 4,277 cases of wine and spirits onto three lorries at Republic National Distributing in Florida. The $1.6 million haul included José Cuervo and Malibu.
5. A Paris mystery €1.5m
La Tour d’Argent discovered 80 of its most valuable bottles missing during a 2024 inventory. Among them was a 1945 Romanée Conti. There was no break-in, no footage and no suspects.
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6. A sommelier with sticky fingers US$1.2m
For eight years private wine steward Nicolas de Meyer quietly removed rare bottles from his employer’s cellar, including several Domaine de la Romanée Conti worth US$133,000 each. The total value was US$1.2 million. He later pleaded guilty.
7. Tanks very much $1.2m
A forklift and 26 stainless steel tanks were all that contractor George “Giles” Becker needed to remove US$1.2 million worth of Cabernet Sauvignon from Francis Ford Coppola’s Inglenook winery in Napa.
8. A hole in the wall US$1.1m
In 2013 Miami thieves drilled through a wall to reach a warehouse and took 750 cases of Spirits of the Tsars vodka. The US$1.1 million heist led to several arrests, but the vodka itself has disappeared.
9. Forklifted fine wine £1m
In East London in 2011 thieves used a forklift to remove 400 cases of vintage wine worth £1 million. Two arrests followed. Not all of the stock has been recovered.
10. A fake delivery US$1m
In 2025 fraudsters posing as hauliers arrived at a Seattle warehouse, presented flawless paperwork and drove away with 12,000 bottles of Westland whiskey. The theft was valued at US$1 million and is still under investigation, as reported by the drinks business.
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