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Thieves make off with €5m haul from prestigious Italian winery

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Cite

Rome, A. G. i. (2026, October 9). Thieves make off with €5m haul from prestigious Italian winery. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/09/thieves-make-off-with-haul-from-prestigious-italian-winery-marchesi-antinori

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-09 · by Angela Giuffrida in Rome

Quick Summary

A theft occurred at Marchesi Antinori, a historic winery in Tuscany, where thieves stole 30,000 bottles of wine worth €5 million (£4.2m) from the cellar on Saturday night. The gang, consisting of at least seven masked individuals, disabled security systems and used company forklifts to load two trucks with high-value wines such as Solaia, Guado al Tasso, and Tignanello ranging in price between €120 and €400 a bottle from the 2023 vintage. The winery’s CEO expressed hope that surveillance footage would help track down some of the stolen goods but noted that their insurance does not cover such large-scale thefts.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 9, thieves stole about 30,000 bottles worth approximately €5 million ($5.8 million) from Marchesi Antinori’s storage facility in Tuscany, Italy, making it the largest wine theft on record there. At least seven masked individuals deactivated alarms and disabled cameras before using company forklifts to load two trucks with prized wines like Solaia, Tignanello, and Guado al Tasso. The theft occurred over a weekend when staff were not present; it was discovered Monday morning but only reported Friday to avoid hindering the investigation. CEO Renzo Cotarella expressed hope that authorities would trace the stolen wine due to extensive road surveillance cameras in Tuscany. This incident follows other recent high-value wine heists, highlighting an increasing trend of such crimes targeting large quantities directly from wineries rather than smaller establishments or private cellars.

Written for “Wine Heist In Italy” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Wine Heist In Italy
Crime & Law · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Thieves pull off Italy’s biggest-ever wine heist, stealing 30,000 bottles worth $5.8M Same event
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
Thieves steal 30,000 wine bottles worth €5m in Italy, reports say Same event
BBC News
Hedges 2 of 15 claims Outlet record 68/100
Thieves pull off Italy's biggest-ever wine heist, stealing 30,000 bottles worth 5 million euros Same event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
Thieves steal 30,000 bottles worth €5m in Italy's biggest-ever wine heist Same event
The Independent
Hedges 3 of 16 claims Outlet record 59/100
Tuscan winemaker Antinori sees red after $6 million theft Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
Italian wine thieves nab $8M of vino in heist. Here's why wine is a 'great target' Same event
CBC News
Hedges 4 of 54 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
3 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Angela Giuffrida in Rome
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 He said he had “great confidence” that investigators would trace the stolen wine, which included 3,000 bottles, some of them magnum-sized, of Barolo Ginestra.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Thieves make off with €5m haul from prestigious Italian winery
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Angela Giuffrida in Rome →

Topics

Corriere Cortona Italy Marchesi Antinori Tuscany

Subjects

Italy GPE · 3× Corriere ORG · 2× Cortona GPE · 2× Cotarella PERSON · 2× Marchesi Antinori PERSON · 2× Tuscany GPE · 2× Guado al Tasso PERSON · 1× Renzo Cotarella PERSON · 1× Solaia ORG · 1× Tignanello ORG · 1×

Narrative

A gang of at least seven masked individuals broke into the cellar of Marchesi Antinori, a family-owned winery dating back to the late 1300s, in Cortona after shutting off the alarms and surveillance cameras before using company forklifts to load two large trucks with 30,000 bottles of wine and making off. Among the bottles targeted were those most prized by wine collectors and consumers, including Solaia, Guado al Tasso and Tignanello, notable as one of the first red wines in the Tuscany region to be produced without white grapes.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 He said he had “great confidence” that investigators would trace the stolen wine, which included 3,000 bottles, some of them magnum-sized, of Barolo Ginestra.
2026-10-09 · The Guardian
Thieves make off with €5m haul from prestigious Italian winery · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 3 hedged)

Thousands of bottles of wine worth €5m (£4.2m) have been stolen from a prestigious winery in Tuscany in what is thought to be the biggest heist of its kind in Italy. asserted
what → steal → Italy
A gang of at least seven masked individuals broke into the cellar of Marchesi Antinori, a family-owned winery dating back to the late 1300s, in Cortona after shutting off the alarms and surveillance cameras before using company forklifts to load two large trucks with 30,000 bottles of wine and making off. Among the bottles targeted were those most prized by wine collectors and consumers, including Solaia, Guado al Tasso and Tignanello, notable as one of the first red wines in the Tuscany region to be produced without white grapes. asserted
those → break → grapes
All the stolen bottles, ranging in price between €120 and €400 a bottle, are from the firm’s 2023 vintage. asserted
bottles → steal → vintage
The theft occurred on Saturday as the company based in the hilltop town of Cortona prepared for a major shipment to buyers abroad. asserted
company → occur → buyers
However, the robbery was only discovered when staff arrived for work on Monday morning. asserted
staff → discover → morning
“The gang was very prepared,” Renzo Cotarella, chief executive of Marchesi Antinori, told Corriere della Sera. asserted
Cotarella → prepare → Sera
“A theft of this scale and value has never happened before in Italy.” asserted
theft → happen → Italy
He said he had “great confidence” that investigators would trace the stolen wine, which included 3,000 bottles, some of them magnum-sized, of Barolo Ginestra. asserted
some → say → Ginestra
“Two trucks full of merchandise can’t just disappear into thin air,” he added. asserted
he → disappear → air
Perhaps with a bit of luck we’ll be able to recover at least some of the bottles.” asserted
we → recover → bottles
But Cotarella, who suspects the same gang could have been involved, never imagined a theft of such scale would happen to his firm. uncertain
theft → suspect → firm
Unfortunately, the company’s insurance policy does not cover the robbery of wine at such huge value. asserted
policy → cover → value
“We had always considered the possibility of having a few cases of wine being stolen during their transportation, but certainly not that two trucks manage to enter the cellar and make off with such a huge haul,” he told Corriere. asserted
he → consider → Corriere
Such large wine robberies were usually meticulously prepared and would probably be carried out by those with an intimate knowledge of wine themselves, Corriere suggested, with the target destination possibly collectors, bars or restaurants. uncertain
destination → prepare → wine
However, a sudden increase in the supply of such wines could raise suspicion. uncertain
increase → raise → suspicion
As the investigators continue their search, Cotarella said the company, which was established in 1385, has warned customers to be wary of any offers of its wine outside official channels. asserted
which → continue → channels
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