The Bendigo-based winery of Water Wheel is hoping that its next shipment of wine to the UK will please more of its customers than did its previous dispatch made last year. Not that there was anything wrong with the wine, mind you, it’s just that that the entire load, which filled a large shipping container, was stolen. So Water Wheel’s UK customers ran dry in 2001. In just the single minute that the driver of the truck carrying the container took to check in at the delivery warehouse in Birmingham, a person or persons unknown unlawfully drove away with said vehicle and load. While the truck was recovered about three days later, the whereabouts of the wine still remains a mystery. Given that its labels are impossible to soak off, and its corks are printed with the winery’s name, a counterfeit as another wine would be unlikely. But while it cost Water Wheel a year’s presence in the UK market, the good news is that the company is not out of pocket for the experience.
