This week the Georgian government showed for the first time in the capital a collection of rare French and Georgian wines that once belonged to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. They want to use the proceeds from their sale to open a winemaking school, Reuters reported on May 29.
Some of the wines date back to the beginning of the 19th century, the publication writes. The collection contains wines from Bordeaux's most famous wineries, which once belonged to Russian Tsar Alexander III and his son Nicholas II. Stalin became the owner of the imperial collection after the 1917 revolution, when the USSR authorities confiscated it from the Romanovs. Gradually, he added his favorite Georgian varieties to it and in general was a “passionate connoisseur of wine,” notes Reuters.
Collectors from the USA came to look at the wine storage. According to journalists, they were delighted with what they saw, comparing it to the adventures of the fictional archaeologist from the famous Indiana Jones film franchise, and also emphasized that the opening of the collection could become a “historic moment.”
A representative of the wine company Gilauri Wines, who worked on the project together with the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture, said that the auction will help attract the attention of collectors to Georgia.
