Italy's Largest Wine Heist Involves 30,000 Bottles

Thieves stole 30,000 bottles of wine, valued at approximately 5 million euros, from a cellar near Cortona on October 2.

The stolen wine, all from the 2023 vintage, was taken from the Marchesi Antinori winery, a family business established in 1385.

According to Corriere della Sera, the thieves disabled the alarm system and cameras before loading the wine into two trucks using the winery’s forklifts.

The operation took three hours to complete, indicating a high level of preparation and coordination.

Renzo Cotarella, the winery’s CEO, stated that the theft may be part of a pattern affecting other Italian wineries and called it the largest such crime in the country’s history.

Lorenzo Vivoli, a communications representative for Marchesi Antinori, noted that the stolen wine was scheduled for export and that the company has insurance covering only one-tenth of the loss.