Antinori Says 30,000 Wine Bottles Stolen From Warehouse

Marchesi Antinori said about 30,000 bottles of wine were stolen from its warehouse in Cortona, Tuscany, in a theft discovered Monday after the bottles had been prepared for export. The company estimated the haul at €5 million, while other reports put its value at more than $5 million or about $8 million. The theft took place over the weekend. The missing wines include bottles of Tignanello, Solaia and Guado al Tasso, three of the winery’s best-known labels. Antinori chief executive Renzo Cotarella said the alarm system had been disabled. The company said the bottles were being held at its largest warehouse before dispatch to customers abroad. Accounts of how the thieves carried out the theft differ. A company representative told AFP the firm believed five or six people took part and used two vans. Other reporting described seven masked men and two trucks. The sources agree that the alarm was disabled, but do not establish a single account of the number of people or vehicles involved. The stolen wine was packaged for shipment, according to Cotarella, making it easier to remove. One report said the theft included about 10,000 bottles of Solaia.