Below the main church, a rock-cut cellar was used to store provisions for the monastery community. The most striking feature is the row of kvevri — traditional Georgian clay wine vessels — that remain embedded in the floor exactly where they were set centuries ago. The monastery would have been self-sufficient in wine, grown on terraces along the Kura gorge that are still visible downstream.
The cellar is one of the more tangible reminders that Vardzia was a functioning city, not just a set of monk's cells. Grain stores, a pharmacy, and a bathhouse have also been identified in other parts of the complex, though most are not accessible to visitors.