By Flavia Tomaello, https://flaviatomaello.blog/, Instagram @flavia.tomaello
A little corner appeared with the vocation of transforming everyday life into ritual. At Thames 1347, Palermo has been beating with a different rhythm since Wino opened, a corner that invites you to stop time and drink it calmly. There, where the aromas of wine mix with amber lights and soft laughter that bounce between terracotta curtains, the idea is as clear as it is luminous: that each glass becomes a discovery, a shared moment that celebrates the liquid memory of an entire country. Wino did not come to be just another restaurant: it came to remind us that wine – in its infinite simplicity and mystical complexity – can be the heart of an experience.
Behind the project are Andrés Massa, a restless gastronomic entrepreneur, and the sommelier Matías Iwao, who decided to put wine at the absolute center of the stage. Nothing is left to chance. From the menu of 120 labels that spans half a century of history – from 1975 to 2024 – to the cuisine of chef Federico Gauna, designed to accompany without dominating, everything at Wino breathes coherence. «Wine is part of our culture, it is in our blood, although we are unaware that it has lived with us for thousands of years. We welcome our desire to keep this beautiful drink alive. We feel that through WINO we can transfer this passion to our clients, so that they keep the flame alive outside their doors,» says Massa, with a smile that can be seen even when the tone becomes reflective.
The spacious and enveloping living room is a scene in itself. A large amphora acts as a totem, guarding green velvet sofas that embrace semicircular tables, inviting prolonged conversation. Victoria Ferreyra’s works inject color and homage: one portrays the grape harvest; the other celebrates iconic figures of Argentine wine. The air moves softly between the high ceilings, the floating fabrics and the warm lights that outline the night. «The experience of coming to WINO has to impact in every sense. The objective is to find a disruptive, different place that generates you and allows you to discover new sensations, in a balanced framework, where there are no excesses, but also no deficiencies of any kind,» explains Massa, and that balance is perceived from the first step: the theatricality is not imposed, it is insinuated.
On the ground floor, forty-eight place settings coexist with the energy of the wine served by the glass or bottle, in Riedel glassware that enhances each variety. Upstairs, an intimate and silent cellar welcomes twelve or twenty diners in the mood for slow conversation. There, private meetings feel like part of a secret wine community, where each bottle opens a story and each tasting flight proposes a new adventure.
The liquid map of emotion
The letter curated by Iwao is, more than an inventory, a sensory geography. «Mainly, the selection was based on all the wines being at their ideal point to be drunk and enjoyed. The search is to ensure that, when reading the WINO wine list, you find a style different from the rest: neither better nor worse, but with an identity marked by our personality,» says the sommelier. That identity is reflected in a proposal that travels from the vineyards of northern to southern Argentina, and crosses borders to incorporate bottles from Chile, Spain, France, Italy and Australia. There is something almost poetic in that decision to build bridges: wine as a universal language, translated into the Argentine accent.
On weekly flights, four drinks become an itinerary. Whites to discover the freshness of the country, reds that compare styles and varieties, a Malbec walk that demonstrates its character according to the region, and a Wine Tour of diverse terroirs. «We seek that, for an affordable price and with a close and professional service from our sommeliers, each consumer, whether knowledgeable or not, can discover, in the simplest and most dynamic way, not only the wine itself, but also its origin, who makes it and what was the search behind its creation. We rotate the selection every week because we want to work with as many producers as possible and accompany them in their dissemination from our space,» says Massa, and one understands that Wino does not is satisfied with serving: it wants to tell, teach, connect.
Iwao’s challenge was as technical as it was emotional. «I selected a national stock that covers the country from north to south, with labels from large, medium and small producers, including several first vintages and special vintages ranging from 1975 to the present. We also have a section of international wines for those who wish to go a little further during the evening. It is worth mentioning that this menu represented a great challenge, since it was a completely personal project,» he confesses. The personal, in Wino, becomes an invisible thread that unites the glasses. Nothing is there by chance: each wine has a reason for being, a moment of expression, a story that opens when uncorking.
The philosophy is clear: talk about wine from the sensory point of view, beyond the weight of the label. The printed name is not so important, but the experience it awakens. In that logic, on Tuesdays to Fridays, the 2×1 flights during happy hour works as an initiation ritual: a gesture of closeness that invites you to try without fear, to err, to discover. It is a celebration of curiosity.
Cuisine that accompanies, without subduing
Federico Gauna’s cuisine is the exact counterpoint: a gastronomic discourse that knows when to be silent to let the wine speak. «When we thought about Wino’s menu, the idea was always clear about the prominence that wine had. We worked in parallel to that axis to design a proposal with variety, but limited and easy to read, where the main attention goes to the glass. To achieve this, we work as a team constantly, relying not only on our knowledge and techniques, but also on the personal experiences that nourish us. We seek to be present in every detail and in every ingredient, carrying out tests “You continue, learning and improving day by day,” explains Massa.
The result is a short, seasonal menu, with a tapas soul. There are homemade breads and pastas, protagonist vegetables and a succession of textures that invite play. The brioche with popcorn butter and vegetable pickles opens the tour with a fun wink. They are followed by the cabbage garden with zucchini emulsion and kiwi chutney, the green spinach and parsley fritters with citrus notes, the cured fish baos and the pastoral chorizo with provolone and jalapeño. Each dish seems to find its sweet spot between precision and spontaneity. The closing sweet alfajor ice cream with red fruits, dulce de leche with miso, chocolate mousse with avocado confirms that cooking can also be a territory of contained audacity.
But beyond the technique, what distinguishes this kitchen is its warmth. «The biggest challenge is to achieve, in a few dishes, convey a feeling of home, of food made with dedication and care, where each step of the process can be felt in the final result. Then, we fully trust the work of our sommeliers to guide the diner towards a unique experience. We also seek to make it a relaxed proposal, perhaps not so much focused on the perfect pairing, but on a shared adventure between wine and food. Make it a an experience of enjoyment, close and accessible, capable of reaching all the palates that come to WINO,” shares Massa, and that statement summarizes the spirit of the house: freedom and enjoyment.
Wino also has its cocktail bar, designed by Johnny Méndez, which translates the same code of care and creativity into the language of spirits. And its cellar, where tastings, launches and cultural meetings are held, expands the experience: wine as a thread that unites conversations, companies, birthdays, friendships. Everything vibrates at the same frequency.
At Wino, wine is not served: it is told. Each glass is a chapter in a collective story. Each flight, an emotional map. Every dinner, a celebration of the everyday. Palermo, with its incessant rhythm, finds in this corner a necessary pause, a place where time settles like a great reserve. There, between clinking glasses and celebrating voices, wine returns to being what it always was: a bridge between people, a pulse that beats, persistent, in the heart of the city.
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