Text Size:

04.01.2009

Somali Pirates Take Ransom in Wine

Apparently the stepped-up patrols of U.S. warships off the coast of Somalia and increased vigilance on the part of ships' captains in the area have not been enough to prevent yet another freighter hijacking. According to CNN, early yesterday Somali pirates in several small boats were able to pull alongside and board the Matriarch, a Delaware-based freighter.

Despite the known danger of operating in the coastal waters off of Africa's eastern coast south of the Suez Canal, the crew of the Matriarch were unarmed, and unable to offer any resistance to the pirates, who quickly brought the vessel to a halt and began their ransom demands.

So why am I bothering to mention this random bit of international news on Vinography? Because it turns out that the ship's refrigerated cargo hold was full of, among other things, hundreds of cases of cult California wines that were destined for the port of Dubai!

As I've written about in the past months, the economy has taken a serious toll on wines in the upper end of the pricing spectrum. Mailing lists that were once exclusive are now increasingly accessible to motivated wine lovers, provided they have the means to purchase.

But opening up mailing lists isn't doing the trick, especially when restaurants in Vegas, which could always be counted on to take a few cases of cult Cabernet, have stopped their ordering cold. As a result, high-end producers are having to look farther afield for buyers, to major financial centers like Hong Kong and Dubai.

Which is why 250 cases of upper-echelon Cabernet from the likes of Harlan, Screaming Eagle, Colgin, and Husic ended up on a boat from Europe to the Middle East.

And amazingly, the story doesn't end there. When the pirates learned that part of their cargo included bottles of wine that sold for hundreds, even thousands of dollars per bottle, they dropped their ransom demands, and made off with the bottles. The AP news photo shows some of the pirates celebrating with their spoils.

The willingness to settle for expensive wine instead of ransom cash has more than a few experts mystified. Some are suggesting, however, that the wine might be seen as a status symbol in many Pirate communities. I find this highly unlikely however, given that virtually the entire country is Muslim. But who knows? These Somalis may have adopted more traditional pirate values along with their basic tactics.

Yet another Somali hijacking barely registered as an international news story, but here at home in California, the news has spread quickly throughout wine country. I called up some of the folks I know to get their take on the story.

"This financial loss adds insult to injury in these times," said Terry Hall, Communications Director at the Napa Valley Vintners Association. "These wines represent so much hard work not to mention capital investment, it's going to devastate some of these folks when they find out." Apparently some of the vintners involved don't know yet as they often take Spring Break week for vacation.

Dalia Banerjee, Executive Director of the Oakville Winegrowers (an appellation that was disproportionally represented in the hijacked cargo) offered hope that the wine might be recovered. "I can't provide details at the moment, but at least one of the vintners has retained a private security firm with the hopes of recovering their wines," she said.

Several people I talked to though that the whole thing was a publicity stunt cooked up by a group of cult producers who regularly meet for poker nights in St. Helena. That sounds pretty far fetched to me, but if it were true, it might be the coolest underground PR stunt I've ever heard of -- the wine equivalent of faking your own death to become famous.

The Matriarch, a bit lighter in cargo, is on its way to Dubai, with a crew that feels lucky to be alive.

At least one news service will continue to cover the hijacking and its aftermath in detail. You can follow the updates here.

Posted by: Alder on April 1, 2009 12:01 AM: Share this post elsewhere Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit; Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Wine News

Previous Entry - Main - Next Entry

TrackBacks (0)

Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Somali Pirates Take Ransom in Wine.

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.vinography.com/MT/mt-tb.cgi/7546

Comments (19)

Dombeya Wines wrote:

04.01.09 at 4:16 AM

Even more amazing ( but completely true) is that at the same time another group of Somali pirates hijacked Ferran Adria's private jet, re-routed it to Mogadishu and forced him at knife point to prepare a 30 course degustation to match the wines.

After completing the task, he was allowed to leave unharmed, but has apparently since made a statement,

" It was the most harrowing experience of my life...everyone knows that there is no food match for these wines."

Happy April 1 :-)

Dylan wrote:

04.01.09 at 6:45 AM

I must say the only upside to this happening would be the headlines. I don't believe the free press will outweigh the financial loss, but I'm just pointing out the silver lining. It's a shame for all the winemakers. I'm unfamiliar though, what are the contractual obligations resulting in a shipping mishap such as this?

doug wrote:

04.01.09 at 9:05 AM

Every April 1st, the stories get better - thank you

El Jefe wrote:

04.01.09 at 9:07 AM

Oh, you may find humor in this now, but someday these pirates will realize these wines are no longer worth the effort, and they will start seeking out wine shipments with better QPR (Quality-Pirating Ratio). When that happens some of us will be happy we're not coastal wineries.

Tom wrote:

04.01.09 at 9:34 AM

Whatever happened to yo ho ho and a bottle of rum? These johnny-come-latelies to the wine party are really starting to irk me.

jjake wrote:

04.01.09 at 9:43 AM

Maybe they took all that cult wine so they won't have to walk the plonk (-:

Blind Muscat wrote:

04.01.09 at 11:44 AM

Alder, extra points for the stretch -- incorporating by far the topic most removed from insider wine stuff into a wine spoof -- good job!

David Gaier wrote:

04.01.09 at 2:42 PM

Is today not April 1? Are those boxes not Photoshopped in?
Clever.

Dmitry Risovany wrote:

04.01.09 at 2:49 PM

:-)) 4 of those pirates are taking the invisible boxes with wine :-)
Happy 1 April, Alder!

Jack Everitt wrote:

04.01.09 at 6:56 PM

The whole thing sounds like an inside job: Cult Wineries unable to sell through, ship their wine through a dangerous area, and oops, it's hijacked.

I also pity the Somali families trying to pair those wines with their food.

Steve Edmunds wrote:

04.01.09 at 9:25 PM

What? You can't imagine eating crow with Screaming Eagle?

Gary "Iron" Chevsky wrote:

04.02.09 at 8:07 AM

This is AWESOME! I also love the first comment :)!!!
Now, let's say this were true...Who would have been left holding the bag - the wineries, the buyers, or the shipping company (assuming the wines are insured)?

Justin wrote:

04.02.09 at 8:49 AM

This is fun. You all are too much!

BaroloDude wrote:

04.02.09 at 1:26 PM

If these guys really get to know their wines, they could be employed as "Somaliers"!

Jason wrote:

04.02.09 at 10:18 PM

HAHA Somaliers! Awesome!

Mike wrote:

04.03.09 at 5:15 PM

I like this story...the picture, however, is photoshop'd. See Picture #6 here:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/03/pirates_of_somalia.html