French Laundry Wine - Nearly 80 bottles of rare and expensive red wine that were stolen from a famous restaurant in California last month have been recovered more than 3,000 miles away in North Carolina.

Capt. Douglas Pike of the Napa County Sheriff's Office told the press last week that most of the wine bottles have been returned to Yountville from the cellar in Greensboro, where they were found. It is unclear how the authorities got wind of the location of the stolen bottles. At the moment, no arrest has been made and officials say an investigation has been opened into the case.

About 76 bottles of highly valued red wine were snatched from The French Laundry restaurant on Christmas day. The restaurant had reportedly been closed for remodeling at the time and there was no one on the premises. Authorities say the thieves, who somehow managed to steal the bottles without triggering the alarm in the wine cellar, may have known exactly what they set out to rob before they ventured into the famous eatery.

The wine business has been growing steadily over the past few years. The price of some wine brands like Domaine de La Romanee-Conti (which was among the stolen bottles) could reach several thousands. Wine experts say the serial numbers of the stolen bottles were distributed to merchants once the heist was reported in Dec. Reports indicate that the stolen wines were recovered from a buyer in Greensboro, according to Wine Spectator.

Despite Capt. Pike's comment that the wine bottles were well taken care of, critics have raised questions about how the robbery and transportation of the wine bottles will affect the quality of the drink. But considering that it is winter, experts say it is unlikely that heat would have damaged the highly sought after bottles of wine just yet.