David Sarajishvili – entrepreneur, public figure, philanthropist – he was very different from the general image of Georgian society at that time. Particularly noteworthy is his broad education, without which he could hardly have accomplished great things.
David Sarajishvili was born in 1848 in the family of Zakaria Sarajishvili, a prominent Tbilisi merchant. Zakaria held the title of “Honorary Citizen” of Tiflis. At that time, all trade was in the hands of Armenians and Jews, while the small-scale industry was controlled by Russians and newly arrived Germans. Therefore, among Georgians, only a great nobleman or writer could receive this award. Georgian merchant Zakaria turned out to be a rare exception.
David graduated from Tbilisi’s first gymnasium and continued his studies at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at St. Petersburg University. Since financial support sent by his father also helped, after one year he went to Germany. First he attended lectures in Munich, then entered Heidelberg University, one of the most prestigious in the world at that time, and in 1871 was awarded a doctorate in chemistry and philosophy. He continued his thorough study of agriculture in Germany, moved to France after seven years, and in two years became a distinguished specialist in viticulture. The years spent in France and the study of local winemaking convinced him to start producing alcoholic beverages upon returning to his homeland.
Sarajishvili returned to his homeland in May 1880 after his father’s death. He married Ekaterine, daughter of the famous merchant and landowner Ivane Porakishvili, who proved to be a worthy partner to her husband. After David’s death (1911), Ekaterine tripled cognac production in Sarajishvili’s factories.
David was the only son in the family. His childless elder uncle also added to the inherited wealth of 700,000: whatever he had, he bequeathed everything to his nephew.
David Sarajishvili traveled around Russia and Transcaucasia for three years and studied the condition of alcohol and vodka factories. He became convinced that alcohol distillation technology was no different from the domestic method of vodka production, which caused the low quality of the product. And the drink “Kizlyarka,” which for some reason was also called “Russian cognac,” had nothing in common with real cognac technology.
In 1885, David, together with Ivane Porakishvili, purchased a vodka distillery equipped with primitive technology near Vladikavkaz, with 75 desyatinas (1.09 hectares) of arable land. He brought the latest equipment from Europe and within one year turned it into a first-class, European-level factory. Small auxiliary enterprises also operated on the factory territory – mills, forges, corn and barley drying and washing workshops. A general dormitory for workers was also built there. The factory operated for 10 months a year and produced up to 1.2 million liters of alcohol. The processed remains of barley and corn were used to feed cattle and pigs. David Sarajishvili also opened Georgia’s first alcohol rectification (purification, filtration) factory in Tbilisi, which worked only with local raw materials and employed more than 100 people. He built a large warehouse and store right next to the factory. The products were mainly sold in Georgia and used for liqueur production and wine fortification (for making port wine).
The factories operated profitably. The talented entrepreneur built a second factory in Vladikavkaz in 1886. The following year, Sarajishvili’s liqueur factory opened in Tbilisi and specialists were invited from France. Production reached 9,000 buckets per year (one bucket equaled 12 liters) and the products competed with European analogues.
Several primitive vodka factories were operating in Yerevan and its vicinity at that time, and in 1887 Sarajishvili also built an enterprise there for the rectification of low-quality vodka and alcohol produced in local mini-factories. Most of the products were sent to the central warehouse in Tbilisi and the bottling factory in Baku.
The Caucasian alcohol market was practically conquered – of the ten or so entrepreneurs who existed before, some moved production to Russia, some sold to Sarajishvili, and the remaining two could no longer provide worthy competition. David Sarajishvili now had the opportunity to fulfill his long-held dream – to start producing Georgian cognac.
The first experiments were set up in the village of Dighomi. David became convinced that the finest quality cognac could be made from the local white grape alcohol. Already in 1888, using the “Charente” distillation apparatus brought from France and double distillation of wine, he obtained 9,600 degrees of cognac alcohol, which he aged in oak barrels. So, 1888 can be considered the “birth” date of Georgian cognac. The factory, whose construction began at the end of 1884, started operating at full capacity from 1889.
A highly qualified cognac specialist was also invited from France. Alcohol came to Tbilisi from Caucasian factories and they made three, four and five-star drinks from it, while for premium expensive cognac, alcohol was imported from France.
Production continued to develop. In 1888 the Kizlyar cognac alcohol factory, in 1894 – a similar factory in the center of Yerevan, in 1895 – in Moldova, in 1901 – cognac alcohol factories opened in Azerbaijan also became suppliers to Tbilisi warehouses. Technological aging of alcohol took place over 5-10 years.
Large production also required a large sales network and Sarajishvili cognac trading warehouses and agencies operated in all corners of the Russian Empire: in Baku, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw, Odessa, Charjou, Kiev, Vilnius, Riga, Kharkov and Rostov. Over ten years (from 1891 to 1900), Sarajishvili firm’s cognac production grew to 218,000 bottles, and in total during this period 1 million 770,000 bottles were sold.
The business developed rapidly over the years. Sarajishvili’s firm received the honorary title “Supplier to His Imperial Majesty’s Court” and numerous international awards at exhibitions and competitions in St. Petersburg, Chicago, and Odessa. The most prestigious was the gold medal and special award for producing the finest quality cognac at the 1900 Paris World Exhibition. Receiving this prize in the homeland of cognac was a real sensation.
In 1910, David Sarajishvili was diagnosed with a malignant tumor. Two operations performed in Germany did not yield results and on June 20, 1911, he died in his own home. Ekaterine Porakishvili-Sarajishvili continued her husband’s work until 1916 (until her death).
David Sarajishvili bequeathed his entire fortune (worth 3 million maneti) to the Georgian people in the form of various national institutions (literacy promotion society, Georgian gymnasium, theatrical society and others). In 1920, during the turmoil, Sarajishvili’s firm ceased operations. The Bolsheviks restored it from 1924.
