Monk Grapes and Spirits in Athens is the place to go when you're interested in learning more about wine or doing a bit of wine tasting.
The wine bar and restaurant is located very close to Agias Irinis Square, a lively nightlife neighborhood, in an impressive and carefully renovated neoclassical building.
A long bench with high stools, standard tables and also a higher level with two large lounge couches offer comfort for all tastes. The decor is simple, with attention to every detail, and the specially designed lighting combined with many small candles creates an attractive atmosphere.
Interior of Monk Grapes and Spirits wine bar — Photo courtesy of Monk Grapes and Spirits
A DJ is present every evening at Monk to accompany your wine selections with jazz, soul and groovy music.
The team at Monk, characterized by their friendly approach and expertise, includes distinguished sommelier Vasilis Papadopoulos. He's a member of the Panhellenic Sommelier Union, with over twelve years experience, and he's present at Monk on a daily basis to help you discover the tastes and aromas that you prefer and to initiate you to the secrets of wine with his own unique style.
The wine list that he's curated for Monk includes 115 different labels from 12 countries, amongst which are Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, the United States, Australia, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa.
It's worth noting that all the labels on the wine list are served in glasses of 150 or 75 milliliters. At Monk, they use the Coravin method, with which the wine can be drawn from the bottle without removing the cork.
With Coravin, a needle is inserted into the capsule and the cork and draws the desired quantity of wine, contemporaneously adding Argon 65 inert gas, which maintains the taste and quality of the wine. In this way, an opened bottle of wine remains fresh, and customers have the possibility to taste any wine they wish to from the list, even a more expensive label, without having to pay for a whole bottle.
The open kitchen serves mainly cold but also warm dishes that have been studied carefully by the sommelier and the chef so as to combine ideally with the various wines. You can choose from the interesting cocktail list, or, if you prefer, try one of the several premium distilled spirits.
At Monk, wine tasting evenings are held often, as well as courses on wine and dinners with the wine producers themselves. During a recent “wine affair,” for example, the resident sommelier gave valuable advice on storing wine in ideal conditions of light and temperature.
Monk can also host lunch breaks, corporate meetings with a special menu, exhibitions, book presentations and other events.
