Heteroclito Natural Wine Bar

The natural wine movement meets Greek tradition in this beloved Psyrri bar. Focus on minimal-intervention producers from across Greece, with an emphasis on old-vine and traditional winemaking. The atmosphere is casual and welcoming, and the food menu complements adventurous wine choices.

What to do there

3 things to do

1. 1 Find the Wine That Was Made with Nothing Added and Nothing Removed Wine · Price: moderate

   Heteroclito opened in 2012 around a single premise: Greek winemakers who intervene as little as possible make Greece's most interesting wines. The name means 'varied' in Greek. The list of 200 labels changes every month.

   Natural wine in Greece is not a marketing category — it's a return. Ancient Greek winemakers used clay amphorae, wild yeast, and minimal intervention. At Heteroclito (St 2 Fokionos & Petraki, near the Diocese of Athens), the 20 by-the-glass selections change every month. Whatever you taste today will not be available next month. Ask the staff: 'What is your most unusual wine right now?' This is not a trick question — they stock things nobody else in Athens carries. Expect €8-15 per glass. Then ask what grape it is and whether you can buy a bottle to take with you. Open Mon-Thu 12:30 PM-midnight, Fri-Sat 12:30 PM-1:30 AM, Sun 6 PM-midnight.

   Backup: Ask specifically for an Agiorgitiko (the Saint George grape, from Nemea in the Peloponnese) or a Malagousia white (rediscovered in the 1970s by Carras Estate from near-extinction). Both are available at Heteroclito in natural-wine interpretations you will not find at any other wine bar in Athens.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Read the Label of a Wine That Survived Near-Extinction History · Free

   Several Greek grape varieties on Heteroclito's list were nearly extinct thirty years ago. Ask which of the wines you're drinking fits that description.

   Malagousia was grown on fewer than 2 hectares when Evangelos Gerovassiliou rescued it in the 1990s. Savvatiano — the grape used in retsina for centuries — was treated as a bulk variety until natural winemakers realized it could make remarkable still whites. Limnio is the grape Aristotle described in the 4th century BC. All three are on lists like Heteroclito's now. At your table (St 2 Fokionos & Petraki), ask the staff: 'Do you have anything on the list from a grape that almost disappeared?' Watch them lean forward. This is the question that separates wine tourists from wine travelers. Whatever they bring you, read the label carefully. The producer name, the village, the vintage year — these represent decisions made by one family to save something the world had almost lost.

   Backup: If language is a barrier, point at the menu and say 'raro' (Italian works) or just 'unusual.' The staff are trained to explain every bottle in English.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Build a Greek Cheese Board from Three Different Regions Wine · Price: low · Optional

   Heteroclito's food program is simple by design: three Greek cheeses, three Greek cold cuts, accompaniments. The point is that the food exists to carry the wine, not compete with it.

   The three cheeses on Heteroclito's board (St 2 Fokionos & Petraki) come from different Greek regions — typically one hard aged cheese, one semi-soft, one fresh. Each pairing reveals something different about Greek acidity and texture against wine. This is not a cheese board. It is a structured tasting exercise disguised as a snack. Order the cheese platter (€10-15) alongside two glasses — one white (ask for something Assyrtiko-based or Malagousia) and one red (Agiorgitiko or Xinomavro). Match each cheese to the wine it likes most. The staff will suggest. Trust them. The combination of the monthly-rotating glass list and a simple cheese board is the most honest way to taste contemporary Greece.

   Backup: The cold cut board works identically. Greek charcuterie is less globally known than Italian but uses the same landscape — mountain air, wild herbs, traditional smoking — and pairs superbly with tannic Greek reds.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• Try the orange wines - Greek varieties excel

• The meze are designed for wine pairing

• Ask about skin-contact whites

• They pour generously