Soleil Mimosa

The first region in the United States to actively cultivate grapes exclusively for winemaking wasn’t California. It was New Mexico. As the story goes, monks defied the Spanish king and smuggled the first wine grape vines into New Mexico in 1629. Fast forward to today, and the Lescombes family is again putting New Mexico on the winemaking map with their Soleil Winery.

Hervé and Danielle Lescombes built their first winery in Chablis in the Burgundy region of France in 1967. In 1981, the family moved to the American Southwest, and by 1984 they had bottled their first vintage. In their tasting room, along with wine, Danielle began pouring freshly made mimosas.

The mimosas proved popular and the Lescombes started bottling premixed mimosas and improved their recipe after searching for the most flavorful and aromatic orange juice. Awards for their beverage followed, along with several 90+ ratings from Tastings.com.

The 220-acre family-owned vineyard is located 47 miles west of Deming, New Mexico, at an elevation of 4,500 feet where hot days and cool nights allow for growing consistently high-quality wine grapes for consistently high-quality wine.

The Soleil Winery, a sixth-generation operation, has a 500,000-gallon capacity with 50 temperature-controlled tanks for precise fermentation and maturation. Bottling capacity is about 250,000 cases annually. Tasting panels and lab testing ensure wines are crafted to their full potential. The facility is certified as “food-grade” joining only a small percentage of U.S. wineries to earn that designation.

Soleil produces full-bodied, French oak-aged reds, crisp aromatic whites, and exquisite sparkling wines from more than 30 varietals. Their approach is a blend of state-of-the-art technology and hand-crafting.