Georgia opens Stalin's wine cellar for the first time – giant collection to be auctioned off

This week in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, a wine collection of 40,000 bottles that belonged to Joseph Stalin was unveiled, including French and Georgian rarities from the early 19th century, Reuters reports, according to UNN.

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The wine cellar was opened for the first time. The country's government plans to auction the collection, some of which dates back to the early 19th century, and use the proceeds to open a winemaking school in Georgia.

Irakli Gilauri, owner of Gilauri Wines, who worked with the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture on this project, said the auction would help "put Georgia on the map for collectors."

The South Caucasus country positions itself as the cradle of wine, with archaeological evidence suggesting a continuous winemaking tradition dating back 8,000 years.

Stalin, who was born in Georgia and led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953, was an avid wine lover and collector, the publication notes.

His treasury includes wine from the most famous Bordeaux estates that once belonged to the Russian Tsar Alexander III and his son Nicholas II. The Soviet authorities confiscated the Romanov imperial collection after the 1917 Russian Revolution, and Stalin became its custodian, gradually adding his favorite Georgian varieties.

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