In 21 years, which have passed since the first vintage on the market of the riverside winery Cepa 21, its president, José Moro Espinosa, has only slept in his winery in Castrillo de Duero (Valladolid) on three occasions. One of them coincided, in the early hours of February 18, with the sabotage of up to three tanks with wine from the last harvest, which ended up being lost and poured into the sewer. The night before the events, José Moro had dinner with some friends at the winery itself and decided to stay the night there. He did not hear or notice anything that happened around 3:30 in the morning. His personal apartment is located in the warehouse’s office area, a place away from the warehouses that were sabotaged. An unknown woman slipped through the cellar door, without forcing it, and quickly and diligently opened the taps of the tanks. Everything seems to indicate that she knew the place and that she knew how to turn on the taps, an action not easy to perform quickly by someone who is a neophyte.
Yesterday in Barcelona José Moro remembered the title of a suspense and drama film with deception and revenge from 1991, directed by Joseph Ruben and performed by Julia Roberts and Patrick Bergin. It’s about sleeping with his enemy. Although, of course, this case would have also inspired the scriptwriters of the television series Stories to Sleep by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador. José Moro is aware that the sabotage action is criminally more burdensome due to the fact that it was perpetrated with him inside the Valladolid winery. In other words, this winemaker born in 1959 in Pesquera de Duero was “sleeping with my enemy.” He does not believe, however, that the female assailant knew that he was spending the night right next door.
The president of this “dream” winery, located in the Golden Mile of the Ribera del Duero DO, has no doubt that the Civil Guard, which is leading the investigation, will be able to solve the case. He does not know how to say “whether it will be in a month or longer,” but he is convinced that the facts will be clarified. He assures that the investigations are still underway, and says he believes that the agents of the armed institute “have conclusive evidence.” He adds that “the judicial police are working flat out, emphatically.”
The agents have asked for the videos captured by the security cameras from the 15 days prior to the assault. And he says that the images in which the hooded woman who perpetrated the sabotage is seen show the “coldness” with which this “sacrilege” was committed. The woman moved “like she did around her house,” and she completed the sabotage in just a few minutes. Despite stating that “many things have been speculated,” José Moro suspects that the person who committed this act that he has also described as “vile and terrible” could well be a disgruntled former worker. He wants the case to be closed as soon as possible so he can understand why this “rogue” act was carried out.
The president of Cepa 21, the first winemaker to enter the Forbes list of the 100 most innovative entrepreneurs, assures that “the misfortune we have gone through has injected me with more enthusiasm to continue developing projects.” Among them stands out the desire to make a white in Ourense or Bierzo, with the Godello or Treixadura varieties, starting with this year’s harvest. He also announced yesterday that of the 1,000 liters of his most iconic wine (Horcajo) that have been saved, they will launch a special edition on the market, probably in a liter and a half bottle.
On Monday, during the celebration in Barcelona of the great La Música del Vi hall of Vila Viniteca, José Moró received many signs of encouragement and solidarity. He has also garnered the support of chambers of commerce, business organizations and hospitality federations. There was even – he remembers half smiling – who offered his condolences for some sad news that has been echoed by such prominent media as the Times or the BBC, and also in Latin America or China. Of course, they do not want to be “famous” only for these criminal acts. They have even received requests from people who want to carry out what they have coined as “the sabotage route” in their winery.
José Moro estimates that the economic losses due to the nearly 60,000 liters that ended up being lost could rise to 2.5 million euros (the sum of what they could have earned from the sale of bottles of up to three wines). Specifically, they have lost part of the production of the Cepa 21, Malabrigo and Horcajo brands from the 2023 vintage. Fewer bottles of which can be sold is Horcajo 2023, a tempranillo that is currently on the market with the 2018 vintage at 89 .60 euros a bottle. The sabotaged red wines were insured, although the Cepa 21 winery has recalled that the insurer does not cover the final market value.
