Georgia is set to auction off a wine collection linked to Stalin
We are talking about tens of thousands of bottles from a former private wine cellar. A wine cellar linked to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin has been opened in Georgia for the first time. According to reports, the collection contained about 40,000 bottles of wine, which are set to be put up for auction.
This was reported by Reuters.
As the agency notes, Stalin, who was born in Georgia, was a wine connoisseur and collector. His collection included, in particular, wines from the largest French wine estates (châteaux) that once belonged to Russian Tsar Alexander III and his son Nicholas II.
The Soviet authorities seized the tsarist estates after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and, as noted, Stalin took possession of them and added his favorite wines to the collection.
Renowned collector Victor Chen, who flew to Tbilisi specifically from Dallas (Texas, USA), did not hide his fascination as he examined the bottles, covered in years of dust, containing amber liquid inside.
“I feel like Indiana Jones—there might be nothing here, or there might be something,” the collector shared his impressions.
Georgian authorities plan to sell Stalin’s collection at auction and use the proceeds to fund the opening of a winemaking school in the country.
Earlier, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili stated that Tbilisi has no intention of ceding its own territories in exchange for European Union membership. According to him, a similar condition was allegedly imposed on Ukraine during discussions of its European integration.
