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    Winemaker

    Felipe de Solminihac

    Discipline
    Winemaker
    Portrait of Felipe de Solminihac

    Portrait of Felipe de Solminihac

    i. Biography

    The Climb

    Training at Institut d’Oenologie de Bordeaux places Felipe de Solminihac inside a rigorous winemaking tradition, one defined by method and technical discipline. Since 1990, his work as partner and General Manager of Viña Aquitania has given his career long continuity within one estate, with quality and place as the central frame of the job. That same continuity extends into teaching: as professor of viticulture at the Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, he moves between academic instruction and working production without separating the two.

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    Today

    At the Santiago estate, the focus is winemaking. In practice, that means a steady attention to the decisions that shape how a wine takes form, with each vintage requiring its own discipline and judgment. At Viña Aquitania, Felipe de Solminihac keeps the work centered on style, identity, and origin, using the estate as the place where those questions are tested and resolved. The approach is measured rather than theatrical, oriented toward coherence in the finished wine.

    Signature

    The signature wines listed under Felipe de Solminihac are SOLdeSOL Chardonnay, Lazuli, Agapanto Cabernet Sauvignon, and Domaine Paul Bruno 1994. Together, they point to a range that spans Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, with other named bottlings that sit within the same broader body of work. Lazuli is the named signature wine most closely tied to his public standing. Across the group, the throughline is not ornament but definition: wines intended to be distinct, legible, and connected to their source.

    In Their Words “I always say, and it is my interest, that they have identity and tell us where they are from and that they are recognizable.”

    Recognition

    Lazuli is the named signature work attached to his recognition. Beyond that single wine, the public markers here are direct: his role at Viña Aquitania, his Chilean identity, and his stated insistence that wines carry identity and place. That combination keeps the emphasis on consistency rather than display. Within Viña Aquitania, Felipe de Solminihac’s standing rests on a clear position: wines should be recognizable because they reflect where they come from.

    ii

    FAQ

    Asked of Felipe

    • Where did Felipe de Solminihac train or study?

      Felipe de Solminihac trained at Institut d’Oenologie de Bordeaux.

    The Sunday email

    Read about winemakers like Felipe de Solminihac in the Sunday email.

    Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.

    See a sample of the Sunday email

    Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.