What I’m drinking now: Marimar Torres of Marimar Torres Estate

Marimar Torres of Marimar Torres Estate not only runs her winery in the Russian River Valley, but also loves to cook and entertain at her house in Sausalito. Some years ago she wrote “The Catalan Country Kitchen: Food and Wine From the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean Seacoast of Barcelona,” a book that I helped edit.

When I asked Torres what wine she’d had recently that stuck in her memory, she told me it was the Graham’s 1994 vintage Port.

“We are part of a group of wineries in Europe called Primum Familiae Vini made up of wineries that are both prestigious and family-owned (and also non-competitive). Members include Torres in Spain, Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux, Drouhin in Burgundy and Antinori in Tuscany. And every year we gather with our children (the next generation) for an annual meeting hosted by one of the wineries.

“In 2003, we met in Porto, Portugal, hosted by Symington. I have such wonderful memories of that trip and all the great restaurants there. And I remember having the 1994 Graham’s vintage Port at the end of a gala dinner.

“It’s a beautiful wine — huge — tasting of chocolate and berries and plum, full-bodied and with a velvety texture. It was a bit too young at the time. But all the families give each other a wine for Christmas. Last Saturday I was giving a dinner for friends and looked in my cellar. There was the Port, which had gotten 96 points from Robert Parker. So 10 years later, I had the chance to drink it again and it’s really beautiful.

“What really came to mind, though, is how much I’ve always loved Porto. In the ‘70s, we always had Port after a dinner with friends. Now we never do. Opening that bottle made me remember what a great wine Port is and as we sat around the table, we all wondered why Port isn’t coming back.”

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