The best wine bars in Berlin – natural wine, sekt and small plates
Natural wine in the Reuterkiez, 70 German sparkling wines in Schöneberg, sharing plates in Charlottenburg: Berlin's wine bar scene has come of age.
Wine in Berlin used to mean either a wine shop with two standing tables or a restaurant with a heavy list. In recent years, exactly what was missing has grown in between: bars where the glass is the point, where guidance works without prior knowledge, and where the kitchen accompanies the wine instead of the other way around.
Five places where that works particularly well right now.
Material – café by day, natural wine from late afternoon
Material on Schönhauser Allee shifts over the course of the day: specialty café until the afternoon, then a natural wine bar with a Spanish focus. The selection on the wall is personally curated – the producers are known to the house, and the croquetas are made from yesterday's bread.
Start simple with the wine: name a colour, taste two open glasses, then decide. For something headstrong, ask for the Basque Country.
jaja – natural wine in the Reuterkiez
jaja in Neukölln is the natural wine bar where you can learn the category: over 50 positions on the board above the counter, most of them open by the glass – unfamiliar styles can be worked through in a single evening. Alongside, small seasonal plates from nearby producers, meant to accompany the glass rather than replace dinner.
The room is narrow, the tables low, and it fills up fast in the evening – book ahead. And trust a recommendation from the open pour.
Der Weinlobbyist – the sekt list of the city
Der Weinlobbyist on Kolonnenstraße belongs to sommelier Serhat Aktas, one of Germany's top 50 sommeliers – he has personally visited every winemaker on the list. German and Austrian wines, plus possibly the most talked-about sparkling list in town: around 70 German sparkling wines, small single-site cuvées next to big houses.
In summer, head for the Mediterranean courtyard – the hidden gem behind Kolonnenstraße. At the counter, the stories come free with the glass.
Bottega Seppel – a Charlottenburg living room
Bottega Seppel on Wielandstraße combines neighbourhood restaurant and wine bar: bare walls, candlelight, donated chairs with little name tags. Around 80 wines from across Europe bridge natural wine and the classics, and the menu runs as small plates to share – beef tartare with nori mayo, truffle fries, Sicilian olives.
Two or three small plates per person and a glass in between will carry you further than a main course on its own.
Estelle – stone oven meets natural wine
Rebecca and Jared Bassoff – with stints at Traube Tonbach, Four Seasons London and five years under Pierre Gagnaire in Hong Kong – run Estelle on Kopenhagener Straße as their first own place. At its centre: a 700-kilo Gozney stone oven. The menu runs family-style as a sharing menu, with natural wine alongside.
The sourdough focaccia with butter is a mandatory opener. The pizzas from the stone oven are the unspoken signature.
Bottom line
Berlin's wine bars have stopped being wine shops with chairs. Open glasses instead of bottle commitments, guidance instead of a list, small plates instead of a three-course obligation – the threshold has never been lower, and the level never higher.