Chile nurtures ancient grape
Carmenere is the hide-and-seek grape. It was esteemed in Bordeaux before 1850 as a potent red for blending despite the fact it ripened badly in cool, wet years. Then along came the dreaded phylloxera epidemic in 1880s Europe and the variety was forgotten as the French replanted other varieties using New World rootstocks that were impervious to the vine louse.