WINE AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE PRODUCTION IN BATUMI AT THE END OF THE 19TH AND BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURIES

RUSUDAN KOBRAVA

RUSUDAN KOBRAVA Head of Department of History in Khariton Akhvlediani Museum Batumi http://orcid.org/0009-0001-4682-4772

Abstract

Following Batumi's incorporation into the Russian Empire and its declaration as a "Porto-Franco" (1878), the city witnessed an influx of foreign capital and a revival of industry and trade. Batumi became a primary hub for exporting Baku oil to the global market. In addition to oil-related enterprises, other industrial sectors began to develop, including the production of wine and alcoholic beverages.

The Georgian entrepreneur Vladimir Danelia was the first to undertake wine production. In 1907, he founded the wine production and export firm "Danelia and Company" in Batumi, marking one of the first Georgian companies in the city. The company began producing various types of wine, as well as church wine processed with honey and honeycomb using ancestral technology. He created an original label for the church wine. The wine was bottled in French, Burgundy-type glass bottles with a one-liter capacity. The products were shipped to various countries via the Batumi Seaport.

Among foreign entrepreneurs, the Greek brothers A. and P. Kutsuris operated in Batumi. In 1865, they founded a firm for producing alcoholic beverages and opened a factory for vodka, liqueur, and cognac. The factory produced various types and qualities of alcoholic beverages, using raw spirits, local fruits, and berries as ingredients.

From 1888, Grigol Danielov, the representative of the Odessa Brewery in Batumi, also produced alcoholic beverages in the city. Danielov’s steam-powered vodka, liqueur, and cognac factory produced high-quality French and Caucasian liqueurs, balsam, rum, champagne, cognac, and table vodka. The factory presented its products at international exhibitions.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, vodka factories owned by S.M. Dvali, M.S. Kalantarov, and O.P. Megavoriani operated in Batumi, alongside wine warehouses where finished wine was transported in barrels and bottles from various regions of Georgia. Labeling and sales were conducted locally.

Keywords: Church wine; Liqueur; Vodka; Cognac; Wine warehouse.