Thieves steal 30,000 bottles of Italy’s most prized wines in $5.8 million heist

October 9, 2026 / 3:33 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Thieves stole about 30,000 bottles of some of Italy's most prized wines worth an estimated $5.8 million from a winery in Tuscany, in what the producer described Friday as the country's largest wine theft on record.

The theft targeted Marchesi Antinori's facility near Cortona, in the province of Arezzo, where a group of at least seven thieves on Saturday night made off with bottles of some of Italy's most sought-after wines.

Chief Executive Renzo Cotarella said the thieves disabled the winery's alarm system and surveillance cameras before entering with two large trucks. Using the company's forklifts, they loaded the vehicles with wine and fled during the night.

"It is certainly a very well-prepared gang," Cotarella said, adding that it may be the same group that has targeted other Italian wineries in recent months. "A theft of this size and value has never occurred in Italy."

Wine Spectator reported that in July, 3,300 bottles were stolen from the renowned Italian producer Castello Banfi.

Cotarella received the 2026 Winemakers' Winemaker Award from the Institute of Masters of Wine, and the winery is well known for producing Italy's most renowned vintages.

Thieves made off…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/