By The European Times | Created at 2026-10-12 16:01:58 | Updated at 2026-10-13 17:54:41
1 day ago
The Georgian government has placed the wine collection that belonged to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin up for auction, Reuters reported on May 29.
Authorities intend to use the proceeds from the sale to establish a winemaking school in Georgia.
Stalin’s collection comprised approximately 40,000 bottles of rare French and Georgian wines, some dating back to the early 19th century. The wine cellar in Tbilisi was opened for the first time in the second half of May.
According to the agency, the collection includes wines that belonged to Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II. These came into Stalin’s possession following the seizure of the Romanov dynasty’s wine collection in 1917.
In early May, the wine cellar of the two-Michelin-starred French restaurant Hostellerie Jérôme was sold at auction. The sale has been hailed as the “largest wine auction in history,” raising a total of over $6.3 million for 25,000 bottles of wine.
Illustrative photo: pexels-hunt-on-photos-studio-5305675-6138585
