Italy’s biggest wine heist? Thieves steal 30,000 bottles worth $5.6m from Tuscany winery

Thieves have stolen 30,000 bottles of wine worth €5 million ($5.6 million) from a prestigious winery in Tuscany in what is believed to be the biggest ever wine heist in Italy. The renowned Marchesi Antinori said that a shipment of some of Italy’s most sought-after wines has vanished before it could reach buyers abroad, in what its chief executive described as an unprecedented robbery.

The theft took place on Saturday (Oct 3) at the company’s storage facility in central Italy. It went unnoticed until Monday (Oct 5) morning, when staff arrived at the premises.

A carefully planned operation

At least seven masked men are believed to have carried out the operation after disabling the alarm system and surveillance cameras. They then used forklifts belonging to the company to load the bottles onto two large trucks before leaving the site.

The haul included Tignanello, Solaia and Guado al Tasso, three of the winery’s best-known red wines. The bottles are particularly popular among collectors, with prices varying between €120 and €400 a bottle depending on the vintages.

Renzo Cotarella, chief executive of Marchesi Antinori, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the scale of the theft was unprecedented.

“A theft of this scale and value has certainly never occurred in Italy,” he said.

‘Two trucks can’t disappear into thin air’

Cotarella expressed hope that investigators would be able to track down the stolen consignment, pointing to the extensive camera coverage on Tuscan roads.

“Two trucks full of merchandise can't just disappear into thin air,” he said. “The Tuscan roads are full of cameras; perhaps with a bit of luck we’ll be able to recover at least some of the bottles stolen from us.”

The winery suspects the selection of wines indicates that the perpetrators had considerable knowledge of the products and their value. The stolen bottles were reportedly intended for export.

Wine thefts raise concerns

Founded in 1385, Marchesi Antinori is one of Italy’s best-known family-owned wine producers and exports its products to around 170 countries.

The robbery comes amid a series of wine thefts across Italy. In September, around 3,000 bottles of Barolo were reportedly stolen in the northern Piedmont region, with losses estimated at several hundred thousand euros.

No arrests have been reported in the Antinori case. The investigation continues as the company urges customers to be cautious about offers of its wines outside authorised sales channels.