Media
Origin Story
The owners of Vin Soleil wanted to offer truly world class Napa Valley wine capable of going toe to toe with any of the best 95+ point rated Cabernets of the world--but at an approachable price point.
Wine is absolutely beautifully complex, but at the same time it should not be pretentious or saved only for special occasions. Vin Soleil was created out of necessity for excellent wine meant to be enjoyed whenever you crave really good “juice.”
The Owner's Story
When I had my first sip of wine, I remember it being something kind of bitter, kind of alcoholic, and barely reminiscent of grape juice. I didn’t really understand why people loved it so much. Fast forward 10 years later, I now realize that wine is so much more palatable and complex than that first $10 twist top bottle I tried from Safeway.
So why enter the wine business? The answer to this was inspired by two challenges we’ve faced as a wine consumers – quality and price. After tasting our way through the wines of the world, we came to the conclusion that our favorite wines were in our own backyard: Napa Valley. Every time we tried a new wine from a different region, we always found ourselves yearning back for the beautifully balanced bold yet approachable tasting notes present in my favorite Napa Cabernet Sauvignons.
Napa Valley is absolutely deserving of its worldwide recognition for producing the world’s best Cabernet Sauvignon varietals. There’s something intoxicatingly unique about opening an oak barrel aged bottle and diving into the spectrum of possibilities of flavors including wild plum, ripe berries, fall baking spices, boysenberry pie, dark chocolate, and subtle oak nuances.
We believe that wine should be a joy to be experienced by anyone from any background.
Living in San Francisco, it’s really not too hard to find a world class Napa Cab. The issue though is pretty apparent: These 95+ point wines always come at an equally high price. Most of our competitors start at $150 a bottle, some even going up to $365, and others even higher. That’s where we had enough, and decided to produce an equally world class wine at a more approachable price.
Vin Soleil was our solution to the quality meets price conundrum. We began crafting Napa Valley wine in 2013, and are a local and minority owned business.
“Wine of the Sun," Vin Soleil exemplifies the impeccable sun ripened fruit and rich soil of the world renowned Napa Valley. Vin Soleil sources only the highest quality fruit and we price our wine starting at $85 as opposed to our competitors producing the same or lesser quality wine starting at $150.
We know we're not your $20 bottle of wine, but what we pride ourselves in is providing that sweet spot for a truly exceptional Napa wine at a price unheard of for our weight class.
I could go on and on about how great I think our wine is but don’t just take my word for it. Here’s what Master Sommelier (one of 103 Master Somms in North America) and current Wine and Beverage Director for the iconic Gary Danko restaurant, Jeremiah Morehouse, had to say about our Napa Cabernet Sauvignon varietal:
2014 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
"While some would say most every year has been good lately in Napa Valley, few would argue about just how blessed wineries where with 2014. A crop that was a bit short on volume made up for it in quality.
The 2014 vintage is stunning for its present state, rich and full of flavor, approachable but with the stuffing that shows it is built to last.
The black fruit tones of blackberry and black cherry still feel quite youthful, but one can sense the softening of tannins and integration of flavors on the palate. Mint and violet flirt with baker’s chocolate and vanilla, and yet there is a continuous mineral component that underlies it all." - Jeremiah Morehouse, Master Sommelier, 2020.
We invite you to try our wines for yourselves, and see if our products really do solve the problem of exceptional Napa Valley wine at an affordable price.
Cheers!
Nick Shen
For any media inquires, please contact us at info@vinsoleilwine.com
Images to Use for Vin Soleil
Nick Shen
Mimi Shen
