![opus one 2012 opus one 2012](http://www.impawards.com/1995/posters/mr_hollands_opus_ver1.jpg)
We couldn’t be more thrilled that our diners here in Charlotte will be some of the first in the world to taste the Opus One’s 2012 vintage-and that we will be part of such an exciting release.” What is so significant about this event? Why is it such a big deal? The dinner is being held on the actual release date of the 2012 vintage, making it a huge honor for Fig Tree and Charlotte to host the event.Īccording to Chef Greg, “October 1 is one of the most highly-anticipated wine dates in a long time. Famed Napa Valley winery Opus One will be unveiling their newest wine, the Opus One 2012 Vintage during an amazing dinner put together by Fig Tree Executive Chef and owner Greg Zanitsch and his wife Sara, a certified sommelier. From ice wines in the northern states, to sparkling wines, aromatized wines, fortified wines, reds, whites, rosés and more, the United States has endless surprises in store for lovers of New World wines.In case you haven’t heard, a pretty big wine dinner is happening at Charlotte’s own The Fig Tree Restaurant on October 1. However, American wine does not begin and end with California, and due to the vast size of the country and the incredible range of terrains and climates found within the United States, there is probably no other country on earth which produces such a massive diversity of wines. As such, it comes as little surprise that today more than eighty-nine percent of United States wines are grown in the valleys and on the mountainsides of California, where arguably some of the finest produce in the world is found. Not even in the Old World are there such fertile valleys, made ideal for vine cultivation by the blazing sunshine, long, hot summers and oceanic breezes. The first European settlers to consider growing grapevines in the United States must have been delighted when they discovered the now famous wine regions within California, Oregon and elsewhere. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
![opus one 2012 opus one 2012](https://thewinelist.shop/2416-thickbox_default/opus-one-2015.jpg)
Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. 2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world.