feature / on the vine / Marimar Estate


however, revealed that the Goldridge series soils, with well- drained, sandy loam and a moderately acidic pH, were ideal for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. “I lucked out,” Marimar says. “It turned out to be fantastic.”


As a woman, studying viticulture had not been a possibility


for her. So, when she wanted to plant a vineyard, she was hoping for her brother’s advice. When he said he was too busy and couldn’t help, she spent the next two years dining at Spain’s best restaurants and writing her first book, The Spanish Table, published in 1986. In this, she drew her culinary inspiration from her husband, who was both a wine and a restaurant critic. At home in Spain, she hadn’t been allowed to cook. In the US, there were no such restrictions—quite the opposite—and she recognized that her cooking could significantly boost wine sales. Her second book, The Catalan Country Kitchen, was published in 1992. Eventually, friends encouraged her to plant the vineyard herself. Miguel Jr. then agreed to come over and help. After preparing the land, Marimar planted one third of it to Chardonnay, and another third the following year.


A close mother-daughter duo from the start With the birth of her daughter, Cristina, in 1988, the opportunity at last arose to bring a pet into the family. Her father had liked dogs and Marimar adored them, but neither her mother nor her husband shared that enthusiasm. “I read about dogs and thought spaniels would be great with kids—they love to run. Chico is my sixth dog.” Marimar ensured that Cristina was raised to speak both Spanish and English. “Spanish is my first language,” says Cristina. “One day, my mother dropped me off at the Montessori School nursery and received a call telling her she needed to speak to her daughter in English.” Proud of her Catalan heritage, Cristina added, “I even found a Catalan tutor when I went to Australia and joined a women’s footy team.” Marimar arranged extracurricular piano, ballet, and


gymnastics lessons for Cristina. Above all, they bonded over horseback riding. One summer, Cristina had gone on vacation to a dude ranch in Wyoming and competed in dressage. It’s where her love of horses was born. In the new property acquired by Marimar in the West Sonoma Coast, she built stables. “Mum would come with me and always pull the trailer,” she recalls. As a lover of the outdoors, Marimar put Cristina on skis when she was only three years old, and by the age of 11, she was heli-skiing. The mother-daughter duo have always been close. Even during the 11 years Cristina lived outside California, they spoke on the phone almost every day. Today, they still ski together and make a point of going heli-skiing in Canada once a year.


Cristina describes Catalan cuisine as “very wine-friendly, with sweet and savory combinations creating a natural pairing with Pinot Noir.” She doesn’t try to emulate her mother in the kitchen; at the same time, Marimar agrees with her assessment. “The Pinot Noirs that score above 95 or 96 are typically big and oaky,” she notes. “I was married to a wine critic, and I remember his tastings. When the wines weren’t great, he might taste 20, but the ones that stick with you are the biggest. The highest scores we’ve ever received for our Marimar Estate Pinot Noir are 95 and 96. Our wines are made for food—you take a sip and appreciate it. You want to enjoy a glass or even a bottle. That’s the kind of wine I’m aiming to make—a wine that doesn’t just deliver a hit of alcohol or oak but leaves a lasting impression.”


150 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025


A lover of Burgundy, Marimar was determined to plant Pinot Noir despite the advice against it. “I discovered a new world in California, free from the baggage of tradition. It’s so open; you can do what you want, and for the first time in my life, I found that people would listen to me”


The year after Cristina was born, Marimar launched her first Chardonnay. A lover of both red and white Burgundy, she was determined to plant Pinot Noir despite the advice against it. “I discovered a new world in California, free from the baggage of tradition. It’s so open; you can do whatever you want, and for the first time in my life, I found that people would listen to me. At the same time, my family was making Cabernet Sauvignon. So, it made a lot of sense to be planting complementary varieties.” She then planted the final third of her vineyard with Pinot Noir, at around 2,000 vines per acre (5,000 vines per hectare)—a practice more in line with Europe than California. On November 17, 1991, on CBS’ 60 Minutes program,


Morley Safer reported on “The French Paradox.” He discussed the paradox of the French enjoying fatty foods, especially cheese, while avoiding heart disease. He concluded that the consumption of red wine played a role in reducing the risk of heart disease. The French Paradox changed American attitudes toward drinking red wine overnight. “Americans are like sponges,” Marimar says. “You tell them something, and they listen and absorb.” The effect was not only a boost in sales for her Pinot Noir but also for her Chardonnay. “For every case of Pinot Noir, customers had to buy two cases of Chardonnay, and it worked.”


From organic to regenerative viticulture Her first harvest was in 1989. The first to be vinified at the estate was in 1992, following the construction of the winery that year. The family visited the following year. How thrilled Doña Margarita must have been to see the traditional Catalan farmhouse design. Sideways premiered on September 13, 2004. “But the hype turned out to be counterproductive,” Marimar reflects. “Everyone started planting Pinot Noir. Some are good, some are not. But it created more competition.” In 2000, Marimar sold shares in the Spanish group. She used the money to purchase a 170-acre (69ha) property in the Freestone Valley in the West Sonoma Coast AVA. She began planting the 20-acre (8ha) Doña Margarita Vineyard with Pinot Noir in 2002. Doña Margarita is at 430–620ft (130–190m) above sea level, six miles (10km) from the Pacific, with southwest- facing, free-draining slopes on Goldridge series sandy loam soils. Tectonic shifts and millions of years of weathering and erosion of marine sedimentary rock formed these soils. Cooler than Don Miguel, Doña Margarita is slightly more


densely planted. It has 2,200 vines per acre (5,500 vines per hectare), using cuttings from the Don Miguel Vineyard. The original 12-acre (5ha) planting, with Pommard and Dijon 115 clones, was expanded in 2008 by another 8 acres (3.2ha) with Pommard and Dijon 667 clones. Its cooler climate, aided by ancient redwood forests, helps. The vines are trained lower


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