A group of masked thieves stole about 30,000 bottles of fine wine worth about 5 million euros ($8 million CAD) from the Tuscan warehouse of Marchesi Antinori, Italy’s largest family-run winemaker, on Friday.
Reuters reported that Antinori, which was founded in 1385 and exports its products to 170 countries, has alerted customers around the world to be wary of offers outside official sales channels after last weekend’s theft and is still hoping to recover the stolen wine.
The British News Agency reported that the thieves stole between 8,000 and 10,000 bottles of Solaya, in addition to Tignanello and Guado Al Tasso. The retail price for the wine is €150 ($240). Some of the rarest wines can sell for thousands of euros per bottle.
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The theft marks the second large-scale escape from the sought-after Italian protectorate this year.
In July, 3,300 bottles were stolen from the Banfi winery in Montalcino. The bottles were valued at about 100,000 euros, or about 160,000 Canadian dollars, according to the industry publication. Wine spectator.
Florence-based Antinori said security camera footage showed seven masked men storming a Cortona storage facility last weekend, disabling its alarm systems before loading thousands of boxes of Tuscan red wine onto two trucks.
Staff discovered the theft on Monday morning when they arrived at the warehouse and it is now under investigation by Italian police.
An Antinori representative told Reuters that the stolen wines were prepared for shipment, meaning they were readily available for thieves to load into their cars.
Global News reached out to the winery for a statement but did not receive a response.
Renzo Cotarella, CEO of Marchesi Antinori, told the Italian publication Corriere della Sera He believes the thieves were “highly trained” and speculated they may be the same gang that targeted the Banffy winery earlier this year.
“Certainly a theft of this size and value has never occurred in Italy,” he told the outlet.
No arrests have been made in connection with the theft New York Times reported Friday.
Lorenzo Vivoli, who works in the winery’s communications department, told the American newspaper that he suspected insider involvement, given the disarming of the warehouse security systems and the timing of the theft.
He explained that shipments of the size of those seized occur only twice a year.
“They got the timing perfect,” Vivoli added. “It’s as if they knew,” he told the New York Times, noting that the winery’s insurance policy would not cover a theft of that magnitude.
“We have insurance, but unfortunately it will only pay us a tenth of the price,” he said.
He said police in Cortona were investigating and had informed the winery that 30,000 bottles of wine “would not disappear.”
He explained that stolen wines are in high demand and produced in limited quantities.
Cotarella told the American newspaper that the company is cooperating with the police and “informing our partners and customers around the world, asking them to pay special attention to any offers outside the official distribution channels.”
Global News reached out to Cortona police but has not received any response.
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