Oinoscent Wine Bar

How to Complete

3 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. 🍷 1

   Ask for the Wine That Wasn't There Last Week

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   Oinoscent was Athens' first modern wine bar when it opened in 2008. Before it existed, there was no place in central Athens to drink Greek wine seriously. The by-the-glass list of 50 wines is refreshed every single week.

   In 2008, when Aris Sklavenitis opened Oinoscent (45 Voulis Street, a 4-minute walk south from Syntagma Square), Greeks went to tavernas and ordered house wine from the barrel. There were no serious wine bars. He changed that. The 1,000-label cellar underground holds 50 by-the-glass selections that change weekly — meaning the wine you're tasting today literally did not exist on this list seven days ago. Sit down and ask the staff: 'What's new on the list this week?' This is the question Aris designed the bar to answer. They will tell you what arrived, where it's from, and why. Expect €8-15 per glass. Open Mon-Fri 5:30 PM-1 AM, Sat-Sun 1 PM-1 AM.

   🔄 BACKUP: If you can't decide, ask for a Santorini Assyrtiko and a Naoussa Xinomavro side by side. These two wines are the strongest argument for flying to Greece specifically to drink.

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2. 📜 2

   Descend Into the Underground Cellar of 1,000 Greek Labels

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   The wine cellar beneath Oinoscent holds more than 1,000 labels. Ask to see it. Most visitors never do.

   Before 2008, Greece exported almost all of its finest wine to Germany and the UK. Greeks at home drank bulk retsina or house red. The cellar beneath Oinoscent (ask at the bar — 'Is it possible to see the cellar?') represents the moment Greece stopped exporting its best wine and started drinking it. 1,000 labels from producers that did not have distribution in Athens as recently as 20 years ago. Look for the wines from Santorini (volcanic island — pure white limestone soils), Naoussa in Macedonia (the Xinomavro capital), and the Peloponnese (Agiorgitiko, Saint George's grape). These three zones are the triangle of Greek fine wine. Ask which of the 1,000 is their single personal favorite.

   🔄 BACKUP: If cellar tours aren't available, the wine list itself is a document worth studying. Ask for the full printed list and read the producer notes — they're written by people who've visited every estate.

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3. 🍷 3

   Taste the Pairing That Changed Athenian Dining

   Optional

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   Chef John Tsikoudakis runs a Mediterranean kitchen with Asian influences at Oinoscent. The food here is designed around wine, not the other way around. Ask for the cheese and charcuterie selection.

   Before wine bars existed in Athens, food and wine were separate categories. You ate at a taverna. You drank house wine. The idea that a Greek cheese platter — three regional cheeses paired to three different Greek wines — could be a complete dinner was radical in 2008. At Oinoscent (45 Voulis Street), order the cheese board and ask the staff to match one wine per cheese. Graviera from Crete, Formaela from Parnassus, Kasseri from Macedonia: each has a perfect match in the cellar below. This is not a special request — it is exactly what they are there for. Cost: €20-30 for food, €8-15 per matched glass. Total: approximately €50-60 for an experience that represents the entire Greek wine renaissance in one sitting.

   🔄 BACKUP: The charcuterie board works the same way — three Greek cured meats, three wines. If you have dietary restrictions, ask — the kitchen adapts.

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