Factory No. 1 in Tbilisi holds thousands of wine bottles deep in its cellars that have not seen the light of day in two centuries. Collections that belonged to the Russian tsars and the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and that in the turbulent 20th century ended up in the hands of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, the most infamous figure in the history of Georgia. Seven decades after his death, the Georgian government opens this immense cellar to the world.
Georgia is one of the most renowned wine producers in the world. According to the country’s authorities, only the historic Factory No. 1 houses “up to 20,000 collectible bottles with top-quality Georgian and foreign wines that have aged for more than two centuries.”
The government has transferred the factory in perpetuity to the National Wine Agency, in order to identify the bottles preserved in the wine cellar and determine their origin. Some of these collections will be auctioned to finance the construction of a wine school.
French ‘Châteaux’ of the tsars
The cellar not only preserves some of the best Georgian wines but also other renowned vintages. Among them, French châteaux that belonged to the Russian tsars Alexander III and his son, Nicholas II, whose empire extended over Georgia in the 19th century. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Soviet government confiscated the tsar’s properties and part of his wine collection was transferred to Stalin, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1922 and 1952, the year of his death.
“This unique space preserves wines and liquors aged for more than two centuries and once again highlights the importance of Georgia as the cradle of wine,” emphasized Georgian Agriculture Minister David Songulashvili during the reopening of the factory.
“It is our ancient winemaking tradition that has given our country a prominent place on the world map and has been for centuries an integral part of our commercial and cultural relations,” Songulashvili emphasized while highlighting that the wine collection “preserves the memory” of Stalin and Napoleon. The presentation of the cellar to the world was attended by the Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze.
In addition to the wines it houses, Factory No. 1 in Tbilisi is an exceptional example of 19th-century architecture. The building was financed by businessman and philanthropist David Sarajishvili, founder of several of Russia’s most important cognac brands, such as the Caucasian Kizlyar factory.
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