Saint Emilion – The Quiz

Something different from Mimi Beck Knudsen this time: Saint Emilion – The Quiz.  She has also supplied these fabulous photos from the Saint Emilion Office de Tourisme and The Wine Cellar Insider website.  Enjoy!

Captions, left to right:

• Here’s one kind of macaron; Saint Emilion is famous for another.
• Saint Emilion’s lavoirs, or wash houses, were built in the 19th century.
• A walk up Saint Emilion’s steep streets rewards visitors with a good view.

Saint Emilion is one of the most popular wine destinations in France. Located about an hour east of Bordeaux, the region boasts some of this country’s most prestigious wineries and most delicious wine. I recently took my second trip to Saint Emilion to meet some friends from Madrid for lunch. I was able to wander a bit and become reacquainted with this town of 1,875.

If you’re a wine lover and want to spend the day trekking the hilly cobblestone streets of a pretty French village, then this is the place for you. Aside from the wine, Saint Emilion offers a little taste of patrimoine, with L’église Monolithe as its main attraction.

Since I am no wine expert and since Saint-Émilion is such a popular and often-written-about destination, I have changed things up for this blog post and am challenging readers to a quiz.

Captions, left to right:

• This giraffe stands in a Saint Emilion garden.
• In addition to wine tasting, Saint Emilion visitors also can indulge in some gallery hopping.
• La Maison du Vin in Saint Emilion does a brisk business. Wine-tasting classes are also offered here.

Saint Emilion – The Quiz – here we go:

QUESTIONS

1. What is the former name of the city of Saint Emilion?
2. The history of Saint Emilion encompasses how many centuries?
3. Between the 8th and 18th century, which religions orders coexisted or succeeded in Saint Emilion? a, Benedictines, b. Augustinians, c. Franciscans, d. Dominicans and e. sisters Ursulines?
4. The monolithic church in Saint Emilion is one of the city’s major sites. Its bell tower is 68 meters high, and its underground religions building is 38 meters long and 12 meters high. What does monolithic mean?
5. In the early 1990s, the Monolithic Church was closed for 15 months so the underground columns could be reinforced. What was discovered during these repairs?
6. Those who climb to the top of the of the bell tower of the Monolithic Church are rewarded with beautiful views of Saint Emilion and its Jurisdiction. How many steps are there in the bell tower?
7. How many acres of vineyards are there in the Saint Emilion AOC?
8. What mineral in the soil gives Saint Emilion its distinct wines?
9. The Jurisdiction of Saint Emilion was listed as World Heritage World in 1999, the title of “Cultural Landscape”. This was the first vineyard classified in the world. How many of the eight towns that comprise the Jurisdiction of Saint Emilion can you name?
10. Saint Emilion is one of the two most famous appellations in Bordeaux’s Right Bank. What is the other?
11. What two grapes will you typically find in Saint Emilion wine?
12. The sweet food specialty of Saint Emilion is a soft cookie with an almond taste. What are they called?

Captions, left to right:

• Flowers border Saint Emilion’s limestone buildings and walls.
• Les grandes murailles in Saint Emilion is the remnant of a 12th-century Dominican Monastery.
• A bright shop window in Saint Emilion catches my eye.

Saint Emilion – The Quiz – How did you do?

ANSWERS

1. Ascumbas
2. More than 13 centuries
3. All of the above
4. The word comes from the Greek “mono” meaning single and “lithos” meaning stone. Its name refers to a building dug into the limestone plateau and and formed from a single block of stone.
5. A network of drains built in the 12th century whose purpose was to evacuate water from the church. This discovery was extraordinary because it showed that the quarrymen of that century were aware of the underground springs and rivers that flowed beneath the church and thus built these drains.
6. 196
7. 13,000 acres
8. Limestone
9. Saint-Laurent des Combes, Saint-Christophe des Bardes, Saint Pey D’Armens, Saint-Etienne de Lisse, Saint-Sulpice de Faleyrens, Saint Hippolyte, Vignonet, and Saint Emilion
10. Pomerol
11. Merlot and Cabernet Franc
12. Macarons, which are different than the famous pastel-colored cookies that are stuffed, although visitors can find both kinds of macarons in Saint Emilion.

Captions, left to right

• The cloister of the Cordeliers contains remarkable ruins.
• La Tour du Roy in Saint Emilion is the only surviving Romanesque-style keep in the Gironde.
• Lest we forget, Saint Emilion is all about le vin.

Captions, left to right

• The shop at Des Cordeliers in Saint Emilion offers a colorful selection of products.
• The bell tower of L’église Monolithe is the highest point in Saint Emilion.