In 1385, Italy's largest family-run winemaker was founded, centuries later thieves stole 30,000 bottles worth USD 5.8 million, CCTV footage shows daredevil theft

Italy has witnessed daredevil theft as thieves stole around 30,000 bottles of premium wine worth about USD $5.8 million from a Marchesi Antinori warehouse in Tuscany, according to reports.

According to the company, the thieves took 8,000 to 10,000 bottles of Solaia, one of Italy's most sought-after labels, as well as Tignanello and Guado al Tasso. The wines retail from €150, but some of the rarest vintages can fetch thousands of euros per bottle. The stolen wines were three of the company's reds -- Tignanello, Solaia and Guado al Tasso -- which sell for 120 to 300 euros or more depending on the vintages.

Renowned Marchesi Antinori winery is not only Italy's largest family-run winemaker but also has a rich heritage. Antinori, which dates back to 1385 and now exports to 170 countries, has alerted customers worldwide to be wary of offers outside official sales channels following last weekend's heist and is still hopeful of recovering the stolen wine.


Cases of Wine Theft in Italy

The theft is the latest in a series in Italy, following another in July at the renowned Banfi winery in Montalcino. While such crimes have traditionally involved smaller quantities or a handful of high-value bottles, from restaurants, private cellars or during distribution, recent cases have involved larger stocks held at wineries.

Last month, 3,000 bottles of Barolo were stolen in the northern Piedmont region. The wines were believed to be worth a total of several hundred thousand euros. Antinori winery theft eclipses previous high-profile wine robberies in Italy. In 2017, thieves stole about 2,000 bottles of rare wines valued at 750,000 euros from a warehouse near the Adriatic resort town of Cervia.

Thieves Targeted Antinori Winery

Florence-based Antinori said that two vans were used for the robbery and the company believes five or six people took part. Surveillance camera footage showed seven masked men entering its storage facility in Cortona last weekend and disabling its alarm systems before loading thousands of cases of the Tuscan red wines onto two trucks.

Antinori said the timing and execution of the theft, which was discovered on Monday morning when staff arrived at the warehouse and is now being investigated by Italian police, suggested a highly organised group was involved.

The operation was facilitated by the fact that the wines had been prepared for a shipment to foreign distributors, allowing the thieves to remove a large quantity of high-value bottles quickly, a representative for Antinori told Reuters. "As far as we know, there has never been such a big heist in Italy," a company representative, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

Chief Executive Renzo Cotarella said the thieves disabled the winery's alarm system and surveillance cameras before entering with two large trucks. Using the company's forklifts, they loaded the vehicles with wine and fled during the night.

“It is certainly a very well-prepared gang,” Cotarella said, adding that it may be the same group that has targeted other Italian wineries in recent months. “A theft of this size and value has never occurred in Italy.”

The stolen bottles were all from the 2023 vintage and are typically sold at a retail price of between 150 euros and 500 euros each. They included about 10,000 bottles of Solaia, one of Antinori's flagship wines, from what Cotarella described as an exceptional year.

The company, founded in 1385 and run by the Antinori family for 26 generations, said it was alerting customers worldwide to be wary of offers outside official sales channels.

Cotarella said he remained confident investigators could trace the shipment, noting that two truckloads of wine would be difficult to move without attracting attention.