French Classics, Old World Bones, Uneven Markups
Lumina Station · Wilmington · French · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 11, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Brasserie du Soleil’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walk into Brasserie du Soleil and the wine list feels like it belongs here — heavy on France, anchored in the classics, with enough regional depth to signal that someone thought this through. It's a proper French brasserie list: Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhône, Loire, Champagne. No surprises, but no embarrassments either.
The list runs 60-90 bottles with a clear French spine — Burgundy Chardonnays, Loire Sauvignon Blancs, and Rhône reds doing most of the heavy lifting. There's even a Château d'Yquem presence, which is genuinely exciting to see in a Wilmington strip mall. Gaps show up outside France; if you're looking for a Spanish Tempranillo or a New Zealand Pinot, you're mostly on your own. But for what it is — a French-leaning room that wants you drinking French wine — the list delivers.
With 10-16 by-the-glass options, there's enough to navigate a full meal without committing to a bottle. The range covers the expected French bases, which aligns well with the menu. Rotation appears minimal — this reads more like a static program than one that chases seasonal pours.
Château d'Yquem 2010 — $480
Yes, $480 is real money for a dessert wine — but d'Yquem 2010 at 37% over retail is about as close to honest pricing as you'll find on a trophy bottle anywhere. If you're going to splurge on Sauternes, this is one of the great vintages and the markup is actually restrained by fine dining standards. Split it at the table and feel good about it.
Château d'Yquem 2006
The 2006 sits at $560 — pricier than the 2010 in absolute terms, but it's a slower-evolving vintage that still has decades ahead of it. Most tables walk past it for the flashier years. If you want d'Yquem with more tension and less immediate opulence, this is the sleeper on the list.
Chanzy White
At $70 on a bottle you can grab at retail for $25, that's a 180% markup — more than double what we'd consider fair. The wine itself is perfectly pleasant Burgundy-adjacent white, but there's no reason to pay nearly three times retail for it when better-value options sit nearby on the same list.
Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc + Escargot
The herbal, mineral edge of a good Loire Sauvignon Blanc — think Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé — cuts right through the garlic butter that makes escargot so dangerous to wear. It's a classically French combination and exactly the kind of move this list is set up for.
The Bottom Line
Brasserie du Soleil is a reliable French wine list in a town where the competition isn't exactly fierce — the Old World depth is real, but watch your step on mid-tier markups that can quietly sting. Send a friend here for the Steak au poivre and a Rhône red; just steer them away from the by-the-glass traps.
Lumina Station · Wilmington · Upscale American / New American with Seafood and Steaks
Port Land Grille is a dependable wine program for a dependable upscale dinner — it won't wow you, but it won't let you down either. If you're in Lumina Station and want a solid glass with a serious steak, you're in the right place.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Murrayville/Market Street · Wilmington · Modern American / Southern Comfort
JohnnyLukes is a solid neighborhood spot that happens to have a wine list, not a wine destination that happens to serve food — and that's fine. Show up on a Wednesday, grab the Sea Sun or the Il Masso at half price, and pair it with the crab cake. You'll leave happy.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown Riverfront/Marina · Wilmington · Seafood / American
Marina Grill is a perfectly solid spot to drink wine if you show up on a Wednesday and let the half-price deal do the heavy lifting. Any other night, the markups are hard to justify when the list is this unambitious.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown Riverfront · Wilmington · Southern comfort and New Orleans-inspired American
Rooster & The Crow is doing real things in the kitchen, but the wine list is an afterthought dressed up with familiar labels and steep markups. Order a cocktail, or bring your own if corkage is an option — this list isn't the reason to come.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Riverfront · Wilmington · Upscale Italian
Floriana isn't trying to be a wine destination, and that's fine — it's trying to be a great Italian restaurant with a wine list that doesn't let the food down. For a date night in Wilmington, it delivers exactly that.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Second Street · Wilmington · Italian (Abruzzese-inspired, house-made pasta)
Tarantelli's wine list is a solid, Italy-focused companion to food that deserves it — fair prices, logical pours, and no real duds. It won't blow your mind, but it'll make your Osso Buco taste better, and that's the whole job.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Telluride / San Juan Avenue · Telluride · French
La Marmotte isn't trying to be a wine bar — it's a cozy French bistro that happens to have a genuinely thoughtful, all-French, all-glass list that punches well above the Telluride baseline. If you're eating duck confit in the mountains and someone hands you JL Chave Syrah for $26, you say yes.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Napa · Napa · French
Angele is a genuinely good neighborhood anchor in one of the world's most wine-saturated zip codes — fair pricing, familiar producers, and a waterfront setting that earns its keep. It won't challenge you, but it won't disappoint you either, and that's not nothing.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Yountville · Napa · French
Bistro Jeanty isn't your typical Napa wine list — and that's exactly the point. The fortified and dessert program alone is worth the visit, with markups that are shockingly fair for this zip code. Come for the duck confit, stay for the Madeira.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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