Thieves pull off Italy’s biggest-ever wine heist, stealing 30,000 bottle…

Criminals made off with approximately 30,000 bottles of prized Italian wine valued at 5 million euros, or $5.8 million, in what the producer called the largest wine theft in the country's history. The targeted storage facility belongs to Marchesi Antinori and sits near Cortona in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany. The company was preparing to ship the consignment to customers abroad when the heist occurred.

Chief Executive Renzo Cotarella confirmed that the stolen bottles consisted entirely of the 2023 vintage, featuring flagship labels such as Solaia, Tignanello, and Guado al Tasso. Individual retail prices for the bottles typically range between 150 euros and 500 euros, with about 10,000 of the stolen bottles belonging to Solaia alone from a year described as exceptional. No arrests have been made.

Inside the Tuscan Facility and the Scale of the Operation

The operation unfolded on a Saturday night as at least seven masked men executed a precise plan at the storage facility. According to Cotarella, the perpetrators deactivated the alarms and disabled surveillance cameras before bringing in two large trucks. They utilized the winery's own forklifts to load the vehicles with the Tuscan reds and fled during the night.

Staff members discovered the empty warehouse on Monday morning as they arrived on site. Marchesi Antinori chose to delay making the details public until Friday to avoid interfering with the ongoing police and Carabinieri investigation. Authorities are currently examining surveillance footage and gathering other evidence from the scene.

Cotarella described the culprits as a very well-prepared gang and noted that the selection of bottles suggests the thieves were wine connoisseurs with inside knowledge. Police are looking at how such a massive quantity of goods can be fenced globally. These wines have a great value and I don't know how they can sell all this wine around the world without being seen, Cotarella told the Financial Times.

Wider Spate of Thefts and Warning to Buyers

This massive robbery eclipses previous high-profile wine heists in Italy, including a 2017 incident where thieves took about 2,000 bottles of rare wines valued at 750,000 euros, or about $840,045, near the Adriatic resort town of Cervia. It also follows a broader pattern of recent criminal activity targeting the sector. In July, 3,300 bottles were stolen from the renowned Italian producer Castello Banfi, as reported by Wine Spectator. Additional thefts occurred earlier this year in the northern Piedmont region, where hundreds of thousands of euros worth of bottles were taken.

Marchesi Antinori was founded in 1385, is run by the Antinori family for 26 generations, and exports its products to 170 countries. Last year, the company recorded a revenue of 263m euros, which is about £223m. Cotarella received the 2026 Winemakers' Winemaker Award from the Institute of Masters of Wine.

In response to the disappearance of two truckloads of merchandise, the company has issued a global warning. We are informing our clients around the world and asking them to pay attention to any offers outside the official channels, Cotarella said. Despite the scale of the loss, Cotarella expressed confidence that the shipment would prove difficult to conceal. Two trucks full of merchandise can't just disappear into thin air. 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, he told Corriere della Sera.

The brazen nature of this operation points to a professionalized underground market capable of absorbing rare vintages, leaving investigators racing to intercept the bottles before they vanish into private collections.