Solorio Wines. Winemaker and founder Mario Solorio was born and raised in Michoacan, Mexico. This region is rich in culture, tradition, and natural beauty. It is known for its vibrant Day of the Dead celebrations, it features charming towns, indigenous Purépecha heritage, and diverse landscapes from lakes to mountains. While it is not known for wine grapes, the region is a major producer of avocados. Mario comes from a large family but they were never able to own a house in Mexico. He followed an opportunity for a better lifestyle so he immigrated to the U.S. at age 16 by himself and settled in Calistoga where his brother in law was working at Vincent Arroyo Winery.
Mario’s brother-in-law offered him a job suckering vines in March/April of 2000—a critical time in the growing season when vines begin pushing out new growth for the year ahead. From that moment on, Mario immersed himself in learning every aspect of grape farming. The winery offered to teach him cellar work. Every door they offered to open for him, he has walked through and taken full advantage of. Today he is assistant winemaker for Vincent Arroyo and also manages all their vineyards. This was his first and still only wine job.
Today, Mario serves as the assistant winemaker for Vincent Arroyo and manages approximately 65 acres of vineyards in Calistoga. Remarkably, this has been his first and only job in the wine industry.
In 2000, Mario planted a vineyard in Calistoga for Vincent Arroyo. Twenty-six years later, during our second visit with him, those same vines had been removed, and he was preparing to replant in 2027. Time moves quickly—and somehow even faster as the years go by. No two days are ever the same in the wine business, and it’s clear that Mario still genuinely loves what he does.
Mario produced the first vintage of what would become Solorio in 2013, focusing primarily on sourcing grapes from small vineyards in Calistoga, with occasional fruit coming from outside the county. However, he didn’t secure all the permits to operate commercially until 2019. That first vintage came from second-crop grapes. Interestingly, Mario wasn’t much of a wine drinker before he began making his own. Over time, he has learned the entire process—from soil to bottle—and everything in between, including hospitality and sales.
Mario keeps each lot separate until blending, just prior to bottling, and he filters early in the winemaking process. His wines are balanced from the start—typically lighter to medium-bodied, highlighting elegance and varietal character rather than heaviness or over-extraction.
In addition to winemaking, Mario runs a small vineyard consulting business, offering services in vineyard development and management from Calistoga to Napa and over to Fairfield.
“Solorio” is his last name, but in Spanish, “solo” also means “alone” or “one person”—a fitting reflection of his winemaking approach, which is truly a one-person operation.
Calistoga
Mario enjoys the weather up valley, the hot days during the summer and the cooler nights. And the small town vibe. He is never far from the vines; he steps out of his door and the closest vines are less than 30 feet away. The vineyards he sources from are generally within a mile radius of where he lives.
Growing grapes in Calistoga, is both an art and a science shaped by the region’s unique climate and soil. The diurnal variation this part of the valley experiences is especially beneficial for varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah, which thrive in the area’s conditions. During some periods in the summer, temperatures can remarkably fluctuate up to nearly 50 degrees between the day and night.
The terroir in Calistoga is diverse, often influenced by volcanic activity. These well-draining soils stress the vines just enough, resulting in more concentrated fruit. Growers carefully select rootstocks and grape varieties suited to specific vineyard blocks, maximizing the expression of the land, or “terroir.” Water management is another crucial factor. While Napa Valley experiences dry summers, many Calistoga vineyards rely on controlled irrigation to ensure vines remain healthy without overwatering, which could dilute grape quality. Sustainable and organic farming practices are increasingly common, helping preserve soil health and biodiversity.
Timing is everything during the growing season. Bud break typically occurs in early spring, followed by flowering and fruit set. As summer progresses, vineyard managers monitor canopy growth and sunlight exposure to protect grapes from excessive heat. Harvest usually takes place between late August and October, depending on the grape variety and desired ripeness.
Select Wines
The 2024 Solorio Chardonnay Contra Costa County is medium to deep gold in color; the bouquet is a union of both orchard fruits, tropical influences and oak complements. These scents include yellow peach, yellow nectarine, apricot, ripe pineapple, and finishing aromas of toasted oak, brioche, toast right out of the toaster and toasted almond. This wine features a noticeable viscosity and weight to the palate, but this is lifted by its bright acidity and complemented by the richness of flavor. This wine taste like golden plums, honeycomb, apricot, yellow, peaches, yellow nectarine and ripe pineapple. Perhaps there is some sweetness here, either of ripe fruit or residual sugar. And like on the bouquet, there is a lingering note of toast, including toasted oak and toasted almond. This Chardonnay also has some girth including a weighted viscosity lingering in parallel with fruit. And we need to mention the acidity, its brightness buoys both richness of flavor and texture.
The 2023 Solorio Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is medium to deep ruby in color; red fruited and bright, the bouquet sings higher tones of red cherry, raspberry, red plums, figs and red licorice. Looking for a pure expression of the variety without too much oak influence, this is an ideal bottling for your palate. The oak is very much complementary here, sitting far in the backseat. Like the bouquet, the palate is red fruited with flavors of Santa Rosa, plum, cherry, currant, cranberry, red licorice and pomegranate including a light pithy character associated with that fruit. And a lighter note of sweet spices felt primarily on the finish. Persists with a bright character with moderately textured tannins fully coating the palate persisting in tandem with the fruit. This medium bodied Cabernet Sauvignon would pair perfectly with fish tacos. La Taquiza in Napa please.
The 2020 Solorio Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is sweetly fruited; this wine smells like raspberry jam, red licorice, cherry pie, boysenberry, prune, sweet tobacco and some baking spices including clove, cinnamon stick and a note of mocha. On the palate there are ripe flavors of plum, blackberry, boysenberry, Persian, mulberry, boysenberry and dark chocolate. The flavors are more red fruited than dark. But the palate is not entirely about ripeness; it is complemented by a lively acidity, which keeps the wine fresh. Lingers with a tartness of sour cherry. At five years post vintage the tannins are gravelly and grainy, showing more on the front of the palate than the back. Their grip persists in tandem with the energetic fruit on the finish. At this stage, there is no perceptible smoke either on the bouquet or on the palate.
The 2023 Solorio Red Blend is made of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Gamay. This wine is medium to deep ruby in color; fruity, fun and flirty, the aromatics are focused on notes of red cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, black currant, mulberry and Santa Rosa plum. And a light note of leather and old tobacco spice. Sometimes the influence of Zinfandel can create a jammy feel, but not so in this wine. This is a very bright expression of this red varietal blend; it’s flavors include sour cherry, Persian Mulberry, not fully ripe boysenberry and blackberry picked in the beginning of the season before it has reached its optimum ripeness. Finishes tart and somewhat tangy. It lingers with a fresh and mouthwatering sensation. At three years post vintage, the tannins are already fairly well integrated and remain with a gravelly and lightly drying character. We would love to pair this with a lighter cut of beef, perhaps a grilled sirloin tip.
Barrel Samples
The 2024 Solorio Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal from a small vineyard in Calistoga off of Mora Ave. For reference, we tasted this about 2.5 years post vintage from barrel. This wine is medium ruby in color perhaps indicating a lighter bodied expression of the variety. The nose smells red fruits including raspberry, Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry and blueberry. Restrained and a more elegant aromatic expression of the variety. Bright, and balanced already showing a harmony at this age, the palate mimics the bouquet to some extent with flavor of red cherry, cranberry, currant and raspberry. And a savory element on the finish including a touch of toasted oak and dried sage. The finish lingers with lightly gravelly textured tannins, well-tumbled and already well integrated for such a young wine.
The 2024 Solorio Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal from small vineyard in Calistoga off of Greenwood Avenue, within eyesight of Mario’s small winery. This wine is medium to deep ruby in color; the bouquet is initially a bit closed and needs time to open with exposure to air. It smells like spicy plum skin, boysenberry, red cherry, raspberry, a minerally and or light ferrous character and rose stems. Red fruited, ripe, this wine tastes like raspberry, red cherry, red plums, blood orange and boysenberry. The tannins are lightly gravelly, felt more on the front of the palate than the back. Unlike many of Napa Valley’s expression from this variety that tend to show heavy extraction, this wine is ready to drink in its youth, already balanced and sits on the palate with a light texture. The texture is light with a creamy mouth feel. The tannins are ripe, rounded and already resolved at this age. Finishes red fruited with plenty of lift from the vibrant acidity, keeping the finish fresh and lively.
Calistoga vineyard
Solorio’s muro de recuerdos y gratitud
The 2024 Solorio Port, Gamay Calistoga is medium ruby in color; this wine was fortified with a 190 high spirits proof. This the third vintage he has made a port-style. He enjoys low sugar and lower alcohol. The bouquet is brightly lit and filled with energy; it smells like rose petals, red licorice, a light kiss of menthol, sweet raspberries, strawberries and ripe plums. This is a fun wine to sniff; the palate is a harmony of flavor, sugar and acidity, with neither one pulling ahead of the other. This wine tastes like raspberry, strawberry, fig jam, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, and cardamom. The sugar is felt more on the front of the palate than the back. Balanced acidity. This wine lingers with noticeable, well-textured tannins, that outrun the fruit on the finish by far. This wine is 16% ABV and its residual sugar is approximately 11%.
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Production is tiny; from 2020 through 2023 he only produced a single barrel a year, equivalent to about 24 cases of wine. Starting in 2024 he increased production significantly, and now produces 3-4 barrels a year.
Solorio is a member of the Calistoga Winegrowers Association and participates in annual consumer tastings hosted by that organization including in Calistoga and in San Francisco. Solorio has no distribution and the wines are sold exclusively through the website or through Mario directly. For more information or to purchase wine, visit: www.soloriofamilywines.com
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