Suspect in wine theft had good taste

A Denver man was arrested Friday on suspicion of heisting high-dollar wines from multiple liquor stores and selling them on an Internet auction site.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is unsure how many stores may have been hit, and investigators did not rule out the possibility that the thefts could have extended south to Colorado Springs, said Jim Shires, public information officer. Police said an undercover operation led to the recovery of 85 bottles of wine from the man's home, including one valued at $3,000. The man's name and photo were not released.

Suspicion began with Tipsy's Liquor Store, in south Denver, where three prized bottles disappeared, according to a news release. A loss prevention manager reviewed surveillance video and discovered the theft occurred Oct. 12. The man, on the tape, allegedly went to the store's wine cave and removed three bottles of Peter Michael Les Pavots wine, priced at $200 apiece. He allegedly put them in a basket and replaced them with three less expensive bottles. He went to another aisle, put the wine in his clothes, purchased two bottles for $8, and left, the news release said.

The 85 bottles allegedly recovered at the man's home were valued at more than $11,500, and investigators say he sold more than $21,000 worth of wine in three weeks online using an auction site called Winecommune.com. Police say he may have used other Web sites, too.

The Jeffco Sheriff's Office said people who sent money orders to "EMIV" may have bought stolen wine.

Scott Long, owner of Tejon Street Wine Shoppe, said he's never had a bottle of wine stolen, but he said about the thefts: "I'd be really leery of ordering wine from an individual on the Internet."

If a pricey wine gets warmer than 70 degrees, for example, it can go bad if stored away for a decade, a common practice of high-end connoisseurs. Someone should know the history of the merchant and the wine they're buying, he said.

Ironically, as the thief entered the elite wine business, wine shop owners were scaling back, according to Long. Like many big-ticket items in the sour economy, demand seems to have slowed down, he said.