iStockphoto / Antonio Gravante/sqback
masked thief next to Antinori winery sign in Tuscany, Italy
Thieves in Italy pulled off the largest wine heist in the country’s history. They made off with 30,000 bottles of Marchesi Antinori wine from Tuscany, one of the best winemakers on earth.
In total, the heist is estimated at around $5.8 million in wine stolen from the producer. For context, Antinori Toscana Tignanello is consistently ranked amongst the best wines produced on earth and two years ago the 2021 vintage was rated as the #3 wine in the world that year.
Thieves Pull Off Largest Wine Heist In Italian History
Marchesi Antinori in Tuscany is world renowned for its Tuscan varietals of Super Tuscan and Chianti. They are the largest family-owned winemaker in Italy. It is a massive operation and they may produce upwards of 20 million bottles on any given year with the Antinori Toscana Tignanello being the crown jewel amongst the lot.
Earlier this month on October 9th, thieves made off with 30,000 bottles from an Antinori warehouse in Tuscany including an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 bottles of Antinori Solaia which is another ultra-premium and highly-rated offering from the winemaker. Each bottle can retail for around $170 (€150).
According to a report from Reuters, Antinori’s security camera footage captured seven masked individuals entering a storage facility in Cortona where they disabled the alarm system before loading an estimated $5.8 million in rare red wine into two trucks. Police would later claim the evidence suggests “a highly organized group was involved.”
Fortunately for the family-owned winery, there is some precedent for catching wine thieves. Back in 2022, after 45 bottles of wine worth an estimated $1.6 million were stolen a complex investigation was launched in Spain which ultimately led to two culprits traveling with fake passports being apprehended.