Le Purgatoire

Le Purgatoire is a wine bar at 34 Rue de Zurich in the Krutenau district of Strasbourg, in the Grand Est region of France. Its listing highlights a cellar of more than 150 references, a breadth that lets visitors compare wines from Alsace, with its Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Crémant d'Alsace, alongside bottles from other French regions and beyond. The bar sits directly across the street from Oenosphere at number 33, which makes Rue de Zurich one of the more concentrated wine-drinking streets in the city. The Krutenau is the district east of the Grande Île, popular with students, young professionals and residents, and the bar draws a similar crowd: mostly adults in their twenties to forties, meeting friends for an aperitif or a long evening of conversation. The atmosphere is that of a neighbourhood wine bar, relaxed and social, with no known dress code. Casual and smart-casual clothes are both normal. The drinks programme is wine-led, with the large reference list offered by the glass or bottle depending on the wine; staff can usually propose a glass by taste, from light and crisp whites to fuller reds. Simple food to accompany the wine may be available, though the menu is not confirmed in the listing, so visitors should check on arrival. Music is incidental. Opening hours are not confirmed, but evening opening is the norm for wine bars of this type, with Thursday through Saturday the busiest nights and early in the week quieter. No cover charge is known, and the bar operates on a walk-in basis; groups may want to ask about reserving a table for a weekend evening. The location also makes it convenient to combine with a stroll along the canals of the Krutenau and the nearby Rue Sainte-Catherine, where the Académie de la Bière Krutenau serves beer drinkers. Prices for wine by the glass generally follow central-Strasbourg norms, in the mid-single-digit euro range for most pours.