Tsinandali Estate

Tsinandali was the estate of Alexander Chavchavadze, a poet, general and figure at the centre of Georgian cultural life in the early nineteenth century, who rebuilt the house in a European manner and laid out a landscape garden around it with trees brought from abroad. He also built a winery on European lines, and the cellar under the house holds a collection running to many thousands of bottles, the oldest from the early nineteenth century, alongside a modern tasting operation. The house is furnished as a museum covering the family and the period, the garden is open to walk, and concerts are held on the grounds in summer.

What you actually see

• The historic bottle cellar - thousands of bottles, the oldest from the 1800s.
• The furnished house museum - the Chavchavadze family rooms.
• The landscape garden - imported trees around the house.
• Summer concerts - performances staged in the grounds.

When to go

April to October; the garden is best in late spring and autumn. Half a day. Closed on Mondays. Tastings and cellar visits are ticketed separately.

Honest expectations

It is commercially run and the tasting operation dominates. House interiors are partly reconstruction. Tour groups arrive in numbers. Ticketing is split into several separate charges.

Nearby

Telavi is north-west; Sighnaghi lies south-east.