Napa County Sherriff’s Captain Doug Pike reported that 72 bottles of rare wine had been confiscated from a home in Greensboro, North Carolina. The collection, reaching just over $300k in value had been acquired by a wine buyer who was unaware of the stolen nature of wine.

The majority of the stash included bottles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, costing around $10,000 per bottle. Other bottles included that of famed limited production Screaming Eagle from Napa Valley.

It is said that nearly all of the stolen bottles had been reclaimed and would be on their way back to the French Laundry’s collection shortly, perhaps with a better set of locks for the wine cellar.

The investigation into finding the culprit(s) responsible for the Christmas Day wine heist continues, although one can’t help but speculate the perpetrators may very well be employed by the restaurant itself.

Given that 72 bottles of wine don’t just magically appear in North Carolina overnight,  police will more than likely be tracking family members or relationships  attained by members of staff within the North Carolina region.

Stay tuned for further updates on this story.