Athens Uncorked, 14 Station St., serves up fine wines with a comforting atmosphere.
Athens Uncorked’s rules are spelled out at the door.
A placard is hung with phrases including “please avoid spending your visit looking at your phone,” “no wine snobbery unless the next round for the house is on you” and “do not bring anyone to Athens Uncorked that you wouldn’t bring to your mother’s house for Sunday dinner.”
Athens Uncorked, 14 Station St., opened on Dec. 6 and serves wine by the glass or bottle as well as in flights, which are groups of two ounce pours for tasting. Snacks such as flatbreads and cheeses are also available, and the menu is to change every two months.
The bar is a cozy assortment of couches and chairs and board games are available.
Sibling duo and wine enthusiasts Nate Hayes and Kathy Blake own the bar.
“It’s someplace comfortable, a little quieter where they can enjoy being with their friends and not have to compete with a band or a large crowd,” Blake said.
Blake graduated from the culinary program at Hocking College and runs the kitchen. Hayes previously worked with Whit’s Frozen Custard and Perk’s Coffee House and runs Uncorked’s social media accounts.
While Hayes is an OU alum and has been in Athens since 1996, Blake moved here four years ago. The two said they have always gotten along and working together is going smoothly.
“It’s been kind of nice having that history together because it’s a lot longer than a friendship,” Hayes said. “We have a really long history together so there’s always that commonality between us. ...Not much has actually changed within our relationship which I think people really enjoy seeing that.”
Wine can be purchased in flights with three glasses of two-ounce pours in each. Flights run from $8 to $11, glasses from $6 to $11, and bottles from $22 to $43. Private cellar selections are only sold by the bottle and run from $40 to $100 a bottle. Champagne and port are also served as well as European beers and ales, for those who, according to the menu might not realize where they are or “have been hauled here with friends who have, shall we say, more refined taste.”
The menu includes a description of the wine and where it is made as well as options for flights and suggested meats and cheeses.
The business has been open for a month but the siblings are expecting larger crowds and a different demographic as students and faculty return from Winter Break.
As the first week of classes begin, Athens Uncorked is starting a coffee service running from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. where coffee, pastries from The Fluff, biscotti and house-made toaster pastries will be served Monday through Friday.
Walking into the doors, customers are greeted, given water, walked through the menu, and given marked glasses and a cheat sheet when they order flights.
Blake said she recommends the “Organic Please” flight, which includes wines from eco-friendly vineyards and a vegan wine, and Hayes recommends the “Red Velvet” for red-wine lovers and “My Humor’s a Little Dry” for white-wine lovers.
Blake and Hayes said they hope Athens Uncorked helps develop the wine culture in Athens.
“I want people to come in and not feel intimidated … or have that fear of asking something stupid,” Blake said. “There’s no stupid here.”
@reb_barnes
rb605712@ohio.edu
