Thieves stole 3,000 bottles of Banfi sparkling wine from a Piedmont winery

Banfi, one of Italy’s best-known wine producers, said 3,000 bottles of Alta Langa DOCG sparkling wine were stolen from its winery in Strevi in Piedmont during the night between June 28 and June 29.

The company disclosed the theft on Wednesday and said the missing bottles were taken in full pallets, a detail that suggests the thieves knew how to move inside the facility and what they were looking for. According to Banfi, the stolen wines were not Brunello di Montalcino, the Tuscan denomination most closely associated with the Mariani family company, but bottles from Banfi Piemonte’s Alta Langa range.

Banfi said the stolen selection included several labels, among them Cuvée Aurora, Cuvée Aurora Rosé and Riserva 100 Mesi, all traditional-method sparkling wines produced in Piedmont. The company did not disclose an estimated financial value for the theft.

Rodolfo Maralli, Banfi’s president, said the producer has invested for years in traceability systems for its wines, especially for flagship labels such as Alta Langa. He said the stolen bottles can be identified and could potentially be tracked through the supply chain, which may help investigators and make it harder to sell them through regular commercial channels.

Maralli said Banfi decided to make the case public to ask for help from customers, trade operators and local residents. He urged anyone who sees the bottles offered in unusual settings or through sales channels not linked to official distribution to report it to authorities or to the company.

The theft points to a risk that concerns more than one winery: premium bottles with strong brand recognition can be attractive targets for organized resale outside authorized networks. For wine merchants, restaurants and importers, cases like this can increase attention on provenance checks and traceability tools, especially in categories such as sparkling wine where branded cuvées can circulate quickly across markets.

Banfi is one of the most internationally recognized names in Italian wine. The company is widely known for its role in expanding the global profile of Brunello di Montalcino in the late 1980s and 1990s, while also building a presence in Piedmont through Banfi Piemonte in Strevi.

No further details about suspects or the status of the investigation were released. Banfi said any information that helps reconstruct the route of the stolen bottles could support efforts to identify those responsible.