Athens Wine Festival (If Timing Allows)

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1

   Walk the Zappeion Grounds Before the Festival Opens

   Optional

   adventure Free

   The Zappeion exhibition hall in the National Garden is the home of Oenorama, Greece's premier wine event. The building and its gardens are free to enter and worth visiting regardless of whether a festival is running.

   The Zappeion was built in 1888 for the first modern Olympic Games revival. It is the building that hosted the IOC's vote to bring the Olympics back to Greece in 1896. It now hosts Oenorama (Greece's largest wine event) every spring. The same colonnaded hall where ancient Athenians conceptually gathered — the stoa — now holds 200 wine producers and 10,000 visitors over a weekend. Walk inside the National Garden to the Zappeion (10-minute walk from Syntagma Square), walk the perimeter of the building. Look at the neoclassical columns. Notice that this architectural form — the covered walkway, the columned exterior — is the same form that appeared in ancient Greek markets where wine was sold 2,500 years ago. If a festival is not running: go inside if open (free or minimal entry), or simply walk the surrounding National Garden.

   BACKUP: The National Garden itself is free and open daily from sunrise to sunset. If you want wine nearby, the Grande Bretagne Hotel bar overlooks Syntagma Square a 5-minute walk away — expensive but the terrace view of the Parliament building is worth one glass.

   Log Memory
2. 2

   Taste Across All Greek Regions for One Entry at Daphni

   Optional

   wine Price: low

   The Daphni Wine Festival, held annually in September-October about 10km west of Athens, charges a single entrance fee for unlimited pours from 100+ Greek producers.

   The Daphni festival is the traditional consumer version of Greek wine culture: one price, unlimited wine, 100+ producers from every region. The wines span Santorini Assyrtiko, Naoussa Xinomavro, Nemea Agiorgitiko, Muscat of Samos, Mavrodaphne of Patras, Retsina — the complete map of Greek wine in one afternoon. At Daphni (approximately 10km west of Athens city center, reachable by Metro Line 3 toward Egaleo then taxi), arrive early (the first hour is least crowded and most producers are patient with questions). Take the map of producer stands if available. Choose 8-10 producers strategically: one from each major region. For each pour, ask: 'What makes your version of this grape different from your neighbor's?' Entry: approximately €10-20. Check www.oenorama.com or local tourist boards for confirmed dates each year.

   BACKUP: If timing doesn't align with Daphni, Oenorama at the Zappeion in central Athens is Greece's premier wine trade and consumer event (31 years running). Check www.oenorama.com for annual dates.

   Log Memory
3. 3

   Find the Producers at Oenorama Who Only Come Once a Year

   Optional

   wine Price: moderate

   Oenorama at the Zappeion is Greece's most important wine event — 31 years running, 10,000 visitors annually. The producers from small islands and remote mountain regions who travel here would never otherwise be accessible in the capital.

   Oenorama brings producers from Crete, the Ionian Islands, Thrace, and Mount Athos to Athens for two or three days. You will encounter wines that have never appeared on any list you've seen before — from Lemnos (Muscat), Kefalonia (Robola), Paros (Monemvasia-Malvasia). Walk the hall at the Zappeion exhibition hall (check www.oenorama.com for annual dates) looking for producers from islands. Ask any producer: 'Is this wine available in Athens normally?' The answer is almost always no. That is why you are here. Find the smallest, least-trafficked stand in the room and taste whatever they are pouring. Entry: €15-25 for consumer ticket.

   BACKUP: If Oenorama is not running during your visit, the Athens Wine & Art Festival held in October at the Old Olympias Hotel (corner of Athinas and Sofokleous streets) offers a boutique alternative.

   Log Memory
4. 4

   Taste the Wine Named for the Laurel and the God

   Optional

   history Price: low

   Mavrodaphne of Patras is a fortified red wine whose name means 'black laurel' — and Dionysus was the god at whose festivals wine like this was always poured. Tasting it here closes the journey.

   Mavrodaphne means 'black laurel.' It is a sweet fortified red from the Peloponnese — think Greek Port — made from grapes that have grown there since antiquity. It was the wine of weddings, funerals, and festivals. Dionysus was the god of all three. You are completing a circle that started 2,500 years ago. Find a producer of Mavrodaphne at any festival and ask for a taste. The wine is dark, sweet, with dried fig and dark chocolate notes. Ask: 'How long has Mavrodaphne been made here?' Then: 'Was wine like this poured at ancient festivals?' The answer to both is yes. You are tasting continuity.

   BACKUP: Mavrodaphne of Patras is available in wine shops across Athens outside festival season. Buy a half-bottle at Heteroclito or Oinoscent and drink it as a post-dinner digestif.

   Log Memory

Insider Tips

• Buy tickets in advance when available

• Pace yourself - many wines to try

• The evening sessions have better atmosphere

• Bring cash for wine purchases