Tsinandali Estate

If you ever wondered about getting a glimpse into the life of a 19th-century duke and his family, Tsinandali is a place for you to visit.

Tsinandali Estate is located 15 minutes' drive from Telavi, just 100 kilometers from Tbilisi. Today, it is a museum, but in the 19^th century, it was built as a summer house for the Chavchavadze family. Let’s say a few words about the builder of this estate. Alexander Chavchavadze was a duke, a poet, a diplomat, a military figure, and just a famous Georgian who lived a very luxurious life. Alexander's father was the ambassador of the Kakhetian kingdom to the Russian Empire, and his godmother was her greatness, the empress of Russia, Ekaterina the II. These two facts defined Alexander's life and many of the things that happened in it.

This beautiful estate in the village of Tsinandali was built by him as his family’s summer residence. It stretched over 12 hectares and was a beautiful garden with lots of exotic plants of great diversity. The house itself represents a Georgian traditional household with typical wooden carved balconies; the interior decoration is a mix between Georgian, Persian, and European styles. The cutlery you can find inside is French, the paintings are German, and the carpets are from Persia, so the overall interior looks fascinating and exotic at the same time. There’s an exhibition hall in the museum, and the exhibition constantly changes. Sometimes you can find interesting artwork by contemporary Georgian artists, and sometimes there's a collection of manuscripts. So quite a big range of exhibitions for all interests.

There’s also one very interesting tradition at Tsinandali Estate. In the outdoor exhibition hall of the estate, there is a collection of wine bottles, along with an old chest and a bowl. These items are located in the basement under a glass floor and are protected with steel shields. Those shields have small open spaces between them, through which throwing coins is a local tradition, but before you have to make a wish, if your coin hits the bowl, your wishes will come true. 

The Maize of Love is another famous place in Tsinandali with its tree of wishes. According to a legend, this tree of wishes was a favorite place for secret meetings of the famous couple Nino Chavchavadze and Alexander Griboedov. This maize preserves its spirit even today with colorful wish tree tags and green bushes. A space inside a wish tree that is totally covered by the leaves and looks like a secret escape.

So yes, visit Tsinandali Estate and enjoy the calming walks around the area. It is located just 15 minutes away from Telavi, and you can hire a private cab in order to reach Tsinandali. If you enjoy wine, Shumi Winery is only a 5-minute drive from Tsinandali Estate and offers a variety of tasting options. In their experimental vineyard, you can see more than 100 varieties of grapes from all around the world. If you happen to be there during early autumn, you are really lucky to see actual grapes used in the winemaking process, and it really helps you understand the basis of wine and the difference between different wines. They also have a wine museum, which will give you a short overview of Georgian wine and its history.