100 years later, wine production in this cellar has been fully restored! In 19th century Kakheti, Kiziki was a prominent place in terms of trade and industrial development, and visible examples of this are the surviving cellars or trade lines, which you will meet many in Sighnaghi. However, apart from Sighnaghi, Kiziki is full of historic buildings, but most of them are either on the verge of demolition or have changed so much after the Soviet Union that it is difficult to see the original image in them.
The cellar is built of bricks from the last period of the 19th century, which have a cross and were referred to as "French bricks". The youngest Qvevri dates back to 1904 and is made by the famous potter Isidore Chubinidze, the other vessels belong to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Interestingly, the oldest Qvevri of the cellar, which bears the mark of the shape of a horseshoe, is the largest and its volume reaches 4 tons.
At present, the wines of the cooperative "Kakheti" are produced in the cellar under the trademark of "Kardanakhi Estate". This winery is not the only historical place for the production of wines of "Kardanakhi Estate", but we will tell you about other wineries in the following editions. Cooperative "Kakheti" Business Initiative envisages the production of high quality wines in such historic wineries, their restoration with full preservation of authenticity and the addition of elements necessary for the relevant technological process, as well as popularization of this process to return Kiziki villages to historic role and image. By this stage the cooperative has already regained its authenticity to three historic wineries and several more facilities will be added to their number in the near future.