Thieves steal 30,000 bottles from traditional Antinori winery

The Italian winery Marchesi Antinori attracted international attention after roughly 30,000 bottles of wine were stolen from its warehouse in Cortona, Tuscany. The criminal act caused an estimated loss of 5 million euros and hit some of the company's most valuable labels. The wines were already prepared and packaged for export when the crime occurred.

How the warehouse robbery in Cortona unfolded

The attack was carried out by seven masked men on a Saturday night. The group disabled the site’s alarm system and used two trucks to load the thousands of cases with the beverages. The company has security‑camera footage of the incident.

The theft was only discovered on Monday morning, when staff arrived at the warehouse to prepare the batches destined for the international market. No arrests have been made so far, and the Cortona police are conducting searches to try to locate the cargo.

Iconic labels and a multimillion‑euro loss

Among the taken products are units of Solaia, Tignanello and Guado al Tasso, considered the winery’s flagship red wines. From the Solaia label alone, which has an annual production of 60,000‑70,000 bottles, the thieves took approximately 10,000 units.

The stolen wines fetch retail prices on the international market ranging from €150 to €500 per bottle. Company management noted that the volume taken will impact the distribution of these products in global markets, as the production of these items is limited.

Protection systems and alerts against resale

The company stated that the stolen products are equipped with anti‑counterfeiting systems that allow verification of each item’s provenance and authenticity. Tignanello, for example, includes identification features because it is frequently targeted by smuggling in the market.

Winemaker and company executive Renzo Cotarella said that publicizing the case aims to prevent illegal resale. The firm advised international buyers to be wary of offers with unusual prices and to report suspicious contacts to authorities.

Series of crimes in Italy’s wine sector

The Tuscan episode adds to other recent attacks on producers in the European country. Recently, the Conterno Fantino winery in Piedmont had 3,000 bottles of Barolo taken from its premises by criminals who used a forklift during the operation.

Also in Piedmont, the Banfi winery had a warehouse in Strevi breached, from which thieves stole about 3,300 bottles of Alta Langa sparkling wine. Local authorities keep investigations ongoing to try to trace the stolen cargo.

With information from Estadão, R7, NeoFeed.