A forklift accident in Australia has resulted in the destruction of wine valued at over $1 million.
The 2010 Mollydooker Velvet Glove shiraz is priced at $185 per bottle.
Sparky Marquis, the winemaker, expressed to reporters that he felt “gut-wrenched” over the 462 cases of wine that were crushed while being loaded for export to the United States.
“When they opened the container, it was described as a murder scene,” he recalled. “Yet the smell was phenomenal.”
According to Mr. Marquis, this shipment accounted for a third of his winery’s annual production in McLaren Vale.
“It’s a substantial loss. Right now, we’re investigating all 462 cases to determine what can be salvaged.”
Fortunately, the wine was fully insured.
As reported by Agence France-Presse, Kerry Logistics, the company responsible for the shipment, handles more than 20,000 containers annually.
Spokesperson Brett McCarthur noted that the company had never experienced a malfunction of this nature before.
“It was incredibly difficult to deliver that news to Sparky,” he mentioned.
by Robbo Green