Italy's Marchesi Antinori Reports Massive Wine Theft
Marchesi Antinori, one of Italy's oldest wineries, has reported the theft of approximately 30,000 bottles of wine valued at over $5.5 million. The heist occurred at a warehouse in Tuscany.
Marchesi Antinori, a historic Italian winemaking family with roots dating back to 1385, has reported a significant theft from one of its warehouses in Tuscany. An estimated 30,000 bottles of wine, valued at approximately $5.5 million, were stolen during a nighttime break-in on October 3.
The incident took place at a storage facility in Cortona. According to company officials, at least seven masked individuals managed to disable the alarm system and surveillance cameras. They forced open a gate and utilized the winery's own forklifts to load all the cases onto two trucks, suggesting a well-organized operation.
The stolen bottles included roughly 10,000 bottles each of Tignanello, Solaia, and Guado al Tasso from the highly regarded 2023 vintage. Solaia, a collectible Tuscan red, typically retails for upwards of $400 per bottle.
"This is a theft of unprecedented scale for the wine industry in Italy, carried out by a group that was clearly highly organized and well prepared," said Renzo Cotarella, CEO of Antinori. The winery discovered the theft on Monday morning when employees arrived at the warehouse. Investigations revealed the alarm system had been switched off from inside the building the day prior.