This slinky Potts Point joint has put together the ultimate pairing of quaffable wines with scoffable snacks. As soon as wine o’clock hits, Sydney’s bon vivants head to Monopole for an evening of sipping and supping in sleek, dark surrounds. As any oenophile will tell you, the wine list is a piece of vinous genius. Curated by sommelier and co-owner Nick Hildebrandt, the 500-strong collection is concentrated in all the right places, with a focus on organic, biodynamic and preservative-free drops, as well as rare and exclusive unicorn wines. If you would rather stick to one or skip around and consider your options, they also offer more than 30 by the glass. While there are many European wine bars in Sydney’s east, what separates Monopole from the pack is its serious food offering by executive chef Brent Savage, the highly regarded restaurateur behind Bentley Restaurant & Bar, Cirrus and Yellow. Entrees and mains are mostly eschewed for a string of wine-soaking snacks, designed to share. Charcuterie is some of the most civilized in town, from pink slivers of house-cured Kobe beef shoulder to a pork hock terrine that turns out to be a Matisse-style masterpiece of juicy pig hunks with pops of mustard and sweet caramelised leek. As the empty bottles start collecting, upgrade to the steak tartare toasts served with unctuous yolk butter for dredging and finish with apricot sorbet and a piquant lime curd, scattered with a crunchy rubble of salted macadamia crumb.