Lives Less Ordinary

Discovering Stalin's million-dollar wine cellar


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In 1998, Australian wine merchant John Baker was puzzled when he received a cryptic message and a list of wines he, on initial inspection, had never heard of. Once he cracked the code, he realised it was a cellar of around 40,000 bottles - including some of the most expensive wines ever produced. It was being offered for a million dollars, and had apparently been hidden away in the republic of Georgia by former head of the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin. Could he secure a deal?
Any comments please email us on [email protected]
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Katy Takatsuki
Picture: John Baker in the wine cellar
Credit: John Baker
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Lives Less OrdinaryBy BBC World Service

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