On Monday morning, staff arriving at the Marchesi Antinori warehouse in Cortona found that roughly 30,000 bottles of premium wine were missing. The theft had taken place over the weekend, and the loss was immediately reported to authorities.
The stolen wine is estimated to be worth about €5 million, which translates to approximately CAD$8 million. This figure reflects the market value of the bottles taken from the facility.
Thieves steal 30,000 wine bottles worth €5m in Italy, reports say https://t.co/KHJXhQn0eE
Among the missing bottles are 8,000 to 10,000 of the Solaia label, together with quantities of Tignanello and Guado al Tasso. The wines normally retail for around €150 ($240) each, while some of the rarest vintages can command thousands of euros per bottle.
” He speculated that the same gang might be responsible for both the Antinori and the earlier Banfi thefts.
The Antinori heist marks the second large‑scale disappearance of sought‑after Italian reserve wine in 2026. Earlier, in July, 3,300 bottles were taken from the Banfi winery in Montalcino, a loss valued at nearly €100,000 (about CAD$160,000) according to Wine Spectator.
Thieves steal 30,000 wine bottles worth €5m in Italy, reports say https://t.co/MxYWlPk42y
Surveillance video from the Antinori site showed seven masked men breaking into the Cortona storage facility. They disabled the alarm system before loading thousands of cases of Tuscan red wines onto two trucks.
The wines that were stolen had been prepared for shipment, meaning they were already staged and ready to be moved. This readiness made the cargo easy for the thieves to load onto their vehicles.
BREAKING: Masked thieves steal 30,000 bottles of luxury wine worth $5.6 million from a vineyard in Tuscany, Italy.
Following the discovery, Marchesi Antinori alerted customers worldwide to be cautious of any offers outside official sales channels. The winery expressed hope that the stolen wine could still be recovered.
Renzo Cotarella, the company’s chief executive, told Corriere Della Sera that he believes the thieves were “highly trained.” He speculated that the same gang might be responsible for both the Antinori and the earlier Banfi thefts.
Cotarella went on to say, “A theft of this scale and value has certainly never occurred in Italy,” underscoring the unprecedented nature of the crime.
Lorenzo Vivoli, who works in the winery’s communication department, told a U.S. outlet that he suspected inside involvement. He pointed to the disarming of the warehouse security systems and the precise timing of the theft as indicators.
Vivoli also noted that shipments of the magnitude taken in this heist occur only twice a year, making the timing of the crime particularly notable.
As of the latest reports from the New York Times, no arrests have been made in connection with the heist. The case remains under active investigation by Italian authorities.
Marchesi Antinori itself said the operation likely involved two vans and up to six individuals. This estimate aligns with the use of two trucks seen in the security footage.
The incident highlights the high value attached to premium Italian wines and draws attention to the vulnerabilities inherent in large‑scale storage facilities that hold substantial inventories.
Founded in 1385, Marchesi Antinori is Italy’s largest family‑run winemaker. Today it exports its products to 170 countries, underscoring its global reach and the significance of its loss.
In the July theft from Banfi, the stolen 3,300 bottles were taken from the winery’s premises in Montalcino. The Wine Spectator reported the value of that loss at nearly €100,000.
The investigation into the Antinori heist continues, with the winery remaining hopeful of recovering the stolen wine while law enforcement pursues leads.