Banfi hit by wine theft: 3,000 bottles of Alta Langa DOCG stolen from its Strevi winery

Wine is sometimes still “stolen”, but not in the positive, metaphorical sense of the expression. One of the most renowned names in Italian wine, Banfi, has fallen victim to a theft involving 3,000 bottles. While one might immediately assume that the stolen goods were bottles of Brunello di Montalcino, the denomination whose commercial and international growth was decisively driven by the winery founded and still led by the Mariani family during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The bottles which were actually stolen were 3,000 bottles of Alta Langa DOCG, the prestigious Metodo Classico sparkling wine from Piedmont which Banfi has been producing for years at its Banfi Piemonte winery in Strevi. The theft of entire pallets, which took place during the night between Sunday, June 28th and Monday, June 2th9, suggests that the thieves knew exactly what they were doing. They carefully selected the bottles, choosing several Alta Langa labels, including Cuvée Aurora, Cuvée Aurora Rosé, and the 100 Mesi Riserva. The news was announced by the company itself.
“For years we have invested in traceability systems for our products and, in particular, for our flagship labels such as Alta Langa. The stolen bottles can therefore be identified and potentially traced throughout the supply chain: an element which may prove crucial to the investigation and which makes any attempt to resell them more difficult”, declares Banfi president Rodolfo Maralli, who concludes: “we have decided to make this news public in order to ask for the cooperation of customers, industry professionals, and citizens. Should these bottles appear in unusual circumstances or through sales channels which are not linked to our official distribution network, we encourage people to report it either to the relevant authorities or directly to the company. Any information may help reconstruct the path of the stolen bottles and assist in identifying those responsible”.