Masked robbers steal wine worth over $5m from top Italian vineyard

Marchesi Antinori Press/Reuters/File

Masked thieves broke into a warehouse in Cortona, Italy and made off with around 30,000 bottles of wine from the prestigious Marchesi Antinori vineyard worth more than $5 million, in what the company says could rank among the largest wine thefts ever reported.

The thieves disarmed the alarm system to carry out the daring heist, which took place at the weekend, but was only discovered on Monday when workers arrived to prepare the wine for export, Antinori’s CEO Renzo Cotarella told CNN on Friday.

The stolen wines were all from 2023 and include some of the winery’s most sought-after labels that retail for between €150 and €500 ($168 and $561) internationally.

“Solaia, and Guado al Tasso, and Tignanello are the most icon(ic) wines we have,” said Cotarella, describing them as category-defining examples of the famous “Super Tuscan” red wines of the region. Between 60,000 and 70,000 bottles of Solaia are produced each year, and the thieves took around 10,000 bottles.

No arrests have yet been made. Cortona police said they were conducting an extensive manhunt, but would not say whether they believe the two trucks used to steal the wine were still in Italy.

“Given the scale of the theft, both in terms of the number of bottles stolen and their estimated market value, the incident may rank among the largest wine thefts ever reported,” Marchesi Antinori said in a statement. “The investigation by the competent authorities is ongoing, as are the assessments required to determine the precise extent of the theft.”

Cotarella said the company is urging consumers not to purchase these wines from unknown sellers, and to report it if any appear on the market. Because the wine was in the warehouse to be shipped out, it was boxed and packaged, making it easier for the thieves to remove.

The heist follows a string of other wine thefts. Last month 3,000 bottles of Barolo worth around €400,000 were stolen from the Conterno Fantino vineyard in Piedmont. It is unclear if the thefts are connected.

Marchesi Antinori was founded in 1385 and is currently run by the 26th generation of the family. It exports to 170 countries and has annual revenues of around €265 million.

Cotarella said he believes the wine will be found. “Two trucks cannot just disappear. I remain always positive,” he said.

马尔凯西·安蒂诺里出版社/路透社/文件

蒙面窃贼闯入意大利科尔托纳的一个仓库，从著名的安蒂诺里侯爵酒庄盗走了约 3 万瓶葡萄酒，价值超过 500 万美元。该公司称，这可能是迄今为止报道过的最大葡萄酒盗窃案之一。

安蒂诺里酒庄首席执行官伦佐·科塔雷拉周五告诉 CNN，窃贼拆除了警报系统，实施了这起大胆的盗窃案。盗窃案发生在周末，但直到周一工人们前来准备出口葡萄酒时才被发现。

被盗的葡萄酒均为 2023 年年份，其中包括该酒庄一些最受欢迎的酒款，这些酒款在国际零售价介于 150 欧元至 500 欧元（168 美元至 561 美元）之间。

科塔雷拉表示：“索拉雅（Solaia）、瓜多·阿尔·塔索（Guado al Tasso）和天娜（Tignanello）是我们最具代表性的葡萄酒。”他称这些酒是该地区著名的“超级托斯卡纳”红葡萄酒的典范之作。索拉雅每年的产量在6万至7万瓶之间，而窃贼偷走了大约1万瓶。

目前尚未有人被捕。科尔托纳警方表示，他们正在进行大规模搜捕行动，但拒绝透露他们是否认为用于盗窃葡萄酒的两辆卡车仍在意大利境内。

“鉴于此次盗窃案的规模，无论是被盗葡萄酒的数量还是其估计的市场价值，这起事件可能位列有史以来报道过的最大葡萄酒盗窃案之一，”安蒂诺里侯爵在一份声明中表示。“有关部门的调查仍在进行中，同时也在进行必要的评估，以确定盗窃案的具体范围。”

科塔雷拉表示，公司敦促消费者不要从不明卖家处购买这些葡萄酒，如果发现此类葡萄酒出现在市场上，请立即举报。由于这些葡萄酒存放在仓库中准备发货，因此都已装箱包装，这使得窃贼更容易将其盗走。

这起盗窃案是近期一系列葡萄酒盗窃案中的一起。上个月，皮埃蒙特地区的孔特诺·范蒂诺酒庄（Conterno Fantino）被盗，损失了3000瓶价值约40万欧元的巴罗洛葡萄酒。目前尚不清楚这些盗窃案是否有关联。

安蒂诺里侯爵集团创立于1385年，目前由家族第26代传人经营。该集团产品出口到170个国家，年收入约为2.65亿欧元。

科塔雷拉表示，他相信葡萄酒会被找到。“两辆卡车不可能凭空消失。我始终保持乐观，”他说。