Capsule

The molded plastic, bimetal, or aluminum sheath that fits over the cork and top part of the neck of a wine bottle. Historically, capsules were made of lead to keep animals and bugs away from the cork. Today, lead is banned because of potential health risks.

What grape variety grown in Chile was, for many years, thought to be merlot?

A. Cabernet Sauvignon

B. Malbec

C. Carmenère

D. Cabernet Franc

Indigenous to Bordeaux, carmenère was brought to Chile in the late 1800s where inexplicably, it began to be made into wine called merlot. It wasn’t until the DNA fingerprinting of grapevines was pioneered in the 1990s that Chile’s “merlot” was discovered to be carmenère. Carmenère is now virtually extinct in Bordeaux, but is thriving in Chile where it can produce fascinating, soft, plush wines redolent of green tobacco, coffee, and leather.

“In the Willamette Valley, we are no longer simply trying to make great wine. We are now just as concerned with representation of place. With pinot noir, a single place (a vineyard) reveals extremely precise aromas and a very specific tannin signature. Wines that are blends of places may taste wonderful in the mouth, but they don’t reach the same level of purity.”

—David Adelsheim, founder of Adelsheim Vineyard (established 1971)

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