A Masked Gang Stole 30,000 Bottles of Wine Worth $5.8 Million From an Italian Winery. It’s Being Called the Biggest Vino Heist in Italy’s History.
The vino villians disabled the cameras, used the company’s own forklifts and drove off with two truckloads of prized Tuscan reds.
At least seven masked bandits made off with about 30,000 bottles of wine worth an estimated $5.8 million from Marchesi Antinori, one of Italy’s oldest family-owned wineries, according to the BBC.
The vino villains broke into the company’s storage facility near Cortona, disabled the alarms and cameras, then used Antinori’s own forklifts to load two large trucks. The robbery included about 10,000 bottles of Solaia along with Tignanello and Guado al Tasso, all from the 2023 vintage and typically priced between $167 and $558 each. The company believes the selective picks point to wine experts with inside knowledge.
CEO Renzo Cotarella claims this is the biggest wine theft in Italian history. But he’s confident the thieves will be caught red-wine handed. “Two trucks full of merchandise can’t just disappear into thin air,” he told the Financial Times. “I don’t know how they can sell all this wine around the world without being seen.”
At least seven masked bandits made off with about 30,000 bottles of wine worth an estimated $5.8 million from Marchesi Antinori, one of Italy’s oldest family-owned wineries, according to the BBC.
The vino villains broke into the company’s storage facility near Cortona, disabled the alarms and cameras, then used Antinori’s own forklifts to load two large trucks. The robbery included about 10,000 bottles of Solaia along with Tignanello and Guado al Tasso, all from the 2023 vintage and typically priced between $167 and $558 each. The company believes the selective picks point to wine experts with inside knowledge.
CEO Renzo Cotarella claims this is the biggest wine theft in Italian history. But he’s confident the thieves will be caught red-wine handed. “Two trucks full of merchandise can’t just disappear into thin air,” he told the Financial Times. “I don’t know how they can sell all this wine around the world without being seen.”
