Tsinandali Estate (Chavchavadze)

Historical, founded 1830s

The Tsinandali estate belonged to Prince Alexander Chavchavadze (1786–1846): poet, general and enlightener. Here he laid out a European park and Georgia's first modern-type winery, with a cellar (marani) for bottle ageing.

Chavchavadze was the first in the country to bottle wine in the European manner and to marry local grapes (Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane) with French technique; hence the wine «Tsinandali». Pushkin, Griboedov and Alexandre Dumas were among his guests.

Today Tsinandali has a house-museum and a restored wine cellar with a historic collection; it is one of the key sites of Georgian wine history.