The Georgian government has opened for the first time a historic wine cellar in the capital Tbilisi, containing some 40,000 rare French and Georgian bottles that once belonged to the most famous Georgian, Josef Stalin.
The collection, which also includes 19th-century wines seized from the Romanov family after the Russian Revolution, was revealed to the public for the first time this week.

Authorities plan to auction the collection and use the proceeds to establish an international summer school in Georgia.
According to wine industry representatives, this could help the country strengthen its reputation as one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world with an 8,000-year-old tradition.
International collectors who have already seen the collection have called it a rare and historic discovery.