Moment British holidaymaker and accomplice ‘steal £30,000 of fine wine’ in audacious US distraction theft as she could face up to 50 years in jail

A British holidaymaker has been arrested in the US, accused of taking part in the daring and distracting theft of a high-quality wine from a historic luxury cellar.

Natali Ray could now face up to 50 years in prison as she is charged with grand theft and other offenses after several bottles worth more than £30,000 disappeared from Burgundy’s most prestigious mansion during her visit.

Ray, 56, is said to have posed as the assistant of a distinguished and wealthy oenologist to distract the sommelier in the cellar, while an accomplice slipped six bottles from the legendary Domaine de la Romanée-Conti estate into specially adapted pockets of his coat.

CCTV of the US wine cellar visit, obtained by the Daily Mail, is said to show Ray, believed to be in disguise, deliberately distracting staff with his back story about a potentially lucrative booking.

CCTV shows a woman said to be Ray telling the restaurant’s receptionist that her name is ‘Stephanie Baker’ and that she is the personal assistant of a Canadian businesswoman who wants to host a dinner for 25 people.

Speaking about the event, which will cost around $20,000, the woman in the footage said, “I’ve heard of your reputation,” before asking to speak to sommelier Christian Borel and claiming her boss was a “wine expert.”

Ray allegedly wanted to see the cellar because he wanted to make sure the temperature of the cellar was under control. Mr. Borel led the couple through three dining rooms and into the pantry.

Having bought eight bottles, the man allegedly replaced the missing quality wine with fake cheap bottles so that their absence would not be noticed, leading the police to conclude that this scheme was carefully planned.

Natali Ray, accused of grand larceny and other crimes after alleged theft, now faces up to 50 years in prison

The footage also shows a chase that ensued when staff noticed certain bottles were missing and went after the man, thought to be from Kent, and Ms Ray.

Two of the stolen bottles, a 2019 Échézeaux and a 2021 Grands Échézeaux, were later found lying on the ground outside, but the other six bottles, worth a total of $41,500 (or around £31,500), are still missing.

Ms. Ray was detained by police in Clark County, Virginia, 60 miles from Washington, D.C., after visiting L’Auberge Provençale Inn & Restaurant in Virginia on Wednesday of last week; but his alleged accomplice escaped.

The high-end L’Auberge restaurant is housed in a farmhouse dating back to 1753, and an adjacent annex features a vast cellar holding 5,500 bottles of fine wine from the world’s most exclusive vineyards, valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The couple are thought to have visited the cellar by appointment on November 19 and were given a tour of the underground wine racks by patron Christian Borel, whose family has owned L’Auberge since 1981.

Ray allegedly distracted Mr. Borel with a made-up story while his friend stayed behind to carry out the theft.

The couple had just left the basement when the theft was discovered, and Mr. Borel and his team began following him.

They say they caught Ray racing to get into the car, but the man next to him got in the car first and drove away.

He is still free.

CCTV shows a woman said to be Ray telling the restaurant’s receptionist that her name is ‘Stephanie Baker’ and that she is the personal assistant of a Canadian businesswoman who wants to host a dinner for 25 people.

The couple is then seen being led through three dining rooms and into the basement.

Ray’s alleged accomplice is seen taking eight bottles and replacing them with fake cheap plastic bottles.

Meanwhile, Ray was deliberately distracting the staff by telling the backstory about possible lucrative bookings.

Ray is now charged with grand larceny, conspiracy to commit grand larceny and defrauding an innkeeper, according to court records seen by the Daily Mail.

Clarke County Sheriff Travis Sumption told the Daily Mail he believed the alleged crime was ‘orchestrated and planned’ but would not comment further.

Ray is currently being held at the Northwest Regional Adult Detention Center and is scheduled to appear in court on December 3.

A mugshot taken as she was taken into the cells shows her hair in braids as she stares at the camera in apparent disbelief.

Surveillance footage shows Ray entering wearing a wool coat, a red silk scarf and her hair arranged in a bob, a style quite different from the images on her Facebook page.

The other suspect was wearing a gray wig, thick glasses and a long coat that was said to have specially designed deep pockets.

According to Mr. Borel, his moneyed appearance helped convince him of his cover story.

Speaking to the Daily Mail he said: ‘You could say he travels a lot or knows enough to know the expressions.

He was steering me away from certain regions by saying, ‘We are not very familiar with American wines, can you show me these?’

By the power of suggestion he persuaded me to take a tour of the cellar where certain countries were kept, which enabled him to disappear for a time long enough to fill the other man’s pockets with copious amounts of wine.

‘He distracted me with sudden questions. We were there for four minutes in total.

‘At one point he asked if there were any American wines I should photograph, that I should recommend to my boss.

After touring the wine cellar, Ray and his alleged accomplice returned to the restaurant’s dining room.

But after a few minutes, the staff noticed that the selected bottles were missing and chased after the man and Ms. Ray.

‘You’re from England’ I thought. I have a bottle from California called The Diplomat with a quote from Winston Churchill on the front.

‘I was just trying to be polite. He even took a photo of it.

‘It was at that point when the guy turned the corner and that was the signal, he had done everything he needed to do. He abruptly ended the conversation, thank you. We will keep in touch. It was weird because I was literally in the middle of a sentence.

‘I didn’t think you were trying to be rude. Their feet were fast, but they did not run. He was mixing it fast.”

Mr Borel claims the man had difficulty climbing the stairs from the wine cellar and was apparently unable to bend his body, which he now realizes was due to the wine in his jacket.

Mr. Borel, his suspicions now well aroused, returned to the cellar and saw the screw-cap bottle caps; In the Burgundy estate, only cork is used.

He ran after them shouting: ‘No, no, no, no, no! Absolutely not.

Matthew Leader, one of the waiters, also went after the two suspects whose car was 100 meters away.

Mr. Leader managed to catch the woman, but the man got into an SUV and drove away as Mr. Borel tried to move toward the open door.

According to Mr. Borel, Ray first claimed to have met the other man on a cruise, then said he had been kidnapped by him and forced to take part in the robbery.

In another dramatic incident, restaurant regular Ryan Dotson got into his $200,000 Porsche Panamera 4S hybrid and began pursuing another waiter, Drew Chaney.

However, as they tried to get in front of the getaway car, another vehicle hit them.

When police arrived to arrest Ray, Mr. Borel and other staff found the 2019 Echézeaux and the 2021 Grands Échézeaux in the grass.

Ray and the man are seen getting into their vehicle as they leave the mansion.

Mr. Borel is seen running after Ray and the man after noticing the bottles missing

Police have notified nearby auction houses in case the suspect tries to sell the wine, but they are not hopeful for the wine’s return.

Mr Borel said: ‘This is very arrogant. They will do this in front of them during business hours, with cameras everywhere. Are you serious? Of all the ways to steal wine, this is the one you chose?

‘The sun was still up. I think they were hoping to get a lot of money.

‘It’s really weird.

‘We’re all really scratching our heads. You might find out that wines are available in a particular place, but you don’t know where they’re stored, and I can’t imagine you’ve planned this entire trip around getting lucky.

‘There are rumors that they have stopped a few more places.

‘If they were hoping to hit a few places they could maybe make $100,000, but if you got caught you’d go to jail for a long time.

‘After it was all over I noticed all the staff and one boss decided they wanted to help, how dare you steal something from our castle, this is our home, you can’t do that’.

According to Mr. Borel, the license plate of the car that sped away was a rental car in New Jersey.

It is unclear whether Ray came to the United States specifically to commit the crimes or had been living there for some time.

He is represented by the Virginia Public Defender’s office: The Daily Mail has contacted the lead attorney for comment.