Thieves stole approximately 30,000 bottles of wine valued at around €5 million from Marchesi Antinori, one of Italy's largest family-owned wineries, in what the company described as the country's largest wine theft on record.
The theft occurred Saturday night at the winery's storage facility near Cortona in Tuscany's Arezzo province. The facility was preparing to ship a consignment of wines to customers abroad when the break-in took place. Employees discovered the theft Monday morning upon arriving at work.
At least seven masked individuals carried out the operation, authorities said. The thieves deactivated the facility's alarm system and disabled surveillance cameras before entering with two large trucks. Using the company's own forklifts, they loaded the vehicles with wine and departed during the night.
The stolen wines included three of Marchesi Antinori's most prestigious red varieties: Solaia, Tignanello, and Guado al Tasso, all from the 2023 vintage. Among the haul were approximately 10,000 bottles of Solaia alone. Individual bottles typically sell for between €120 and €500, depending on the vintage, with some rare editions commanding higher prices.
"As far as we know, there has never been such a big heist in Italy," a company representative told Agence France-Presse. The representative noted that the targeted warehouse was the company's largest storage facility, where all bottles are prepared before shipment.
Renzo Cotarella, the winery's chief executive, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the theft bore hallmarks of a highly organized operation. "It is certainly a very well-prepared gang," Cotarella said, adding that the same group may have targeted other Italian wineries in recent months.
Cotarella expressed hope that authorities would be able to trace the stolen wine, noting that two trucks laden with merchandise could not simply disappear. He added that the wine's high value and distinctive nature would make it difficult to sell discreetly. The company has warned customers worldwide to be cautious of wine offered outside official sales channels.
Marchesi Antinori, based in Florence, traces its origins to 1385 and operates across multiple regions. The theft represents the latest in a series of wine thefts in Italy, with criminals demonstrating specialized knowledge in selecting high-value bottles. In September, 3,000 bottles of Barolo wine were stolen from another Italian producer in the Piedmont region.