Police arrest Soldera vandalism suspect

Police in Italy have arrested a former employee of Brunello di Montalcino producer, the Soldera family, in connection with vandalism in the winery.

As reported in db, six vintages of Case Basse were destroyed in the vandalism, which took place at the beginning of December.

Initially the vandalism was linked to organised crime, and the family released a statement saying that it would stand firm, saying: “No intimidation can stop our work.”

But police have arrested Andrea Di Gisi, 39, from Rome, who now lives Montalcino and who was reportedly a former winery employee of the family.

The Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera reports that Di Gisi carried out the vandalism because he was angry that he had not been given accommodation on the estate.

At a press conference the mayor of Montalcino, Silvio Franceschelli and the president of the consortium of Brunello said that there was no mafia involvement in the vandalism.

They added that the vandalism was “vile and disgraceful” and “totally foreign to the culture and values of the territory of Montalcino.”

The act of vandalism resulted in the loss of 62,600 litres of wine with a commercial value in the region of €10m.