When Firefly Hill Vineyards found out that nearly all of its crop had been stolen, the owners took to social media to express their frustrations with the theft.
The Elliston winery had 2.5 tons of grapes stolen from it, costing the Dunkenbergers an estimated $50,000 and any hope of a 2018 batch.
What started out as understandable anger from co-owner David Dunkenberger quickly turned into gratefulness for a ton of community support.
“I want to thank everyone for proving society has not hit rock bottom. We are truly humbled by the outpouring of support,” Firefly’s Facebook page read. “Life goes on and if this is the worst thing that happens to us, we have it made.”
Earlier this week, Dunkenberger said that he was surprised how many news outlets reported on the theft and that he even received a message from a man in Poland expressing his sympathies for the loss.
However, a winery in Washington is going to impact Firefly’s operation with more than just kind words.
Alexandria Nicole Cellars in Woodinville offered to donate some of its grapes to replace the stolen crop. After thinking it over for a few days, the Dunkenbergers accepted the offer.
“Me and my wife talked it over and we decided that we wanted to be able to produce something for 2018,” he said.
Co-owner of the Washington winery Jarrod Boyle said he reached out after hearing about the story because his 360-acre vineyard had more than enough grapes and he wanted to pay it forward.
“We went through our share of challenges starting out and had help from other vineyards,” he said. “In this business, everybody wants to see everybody succeed.”
Dunkenberger headed to Washington Wednesday to help with the harvest and thank the Boyles in person.
The grapes will be processed in Washington and the juice will get shipped back to Virginia where Firefly will produce a Rousanne that should be ready in the spring.
Allison Dunkenberger believes people familiar with the trade stole the grapes from the 3.5-acre vineyard. The 12-year-old vines were meticulously harvested in a single night, which means that multiple people were involved.
The Montgomery Sheriff’s office said that it has a few leads being pursued and anyone with any information is asked to call investigator Don link at 382-6915, ext. 44421.
