Marimar Estate Wine Tasting Dinner with Cristina Torres 2025

Marimar Estate Wine Tasting and Dinner with Cristina Torres at Lysses House Hotel

Wednesday 25th June 2025, 7.30pm start.

Lysses House Hotel, 51 High St, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 7BQ [Map]

We are delighted to welcome Cristina Torres of Marimar Estate to host a Californian wine tasting and dinner at Lysses House Hotel (located between Portsmouth and Southampton). Cristina will showcase exceptional wines from her family’s estate in the Russian River Valley. Cristina is the general manager of this famous Californian wine estate, which was founded by her mother, Marimar, in 1986. The estate focuses on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but in a nod to the family’s Spanish roots, there is also some Albarino, Godello and Tempranillo produced.

Some of you may remember that Cristina visited us in 2013 once before, where she showed not only some of the excellent Marimar Estate wines, but also some wines from Torres Spain and Miguel Torres Chile, estate owned by her uncle, Miguel A. Torres. In fact, as the estate does not produce a dessert wine, we will be showing one of her uncle’s wines, a luscious, sweet Spanish Moscatel, with dessert.

The event will begin with a brief introduction and tasting of five wines, followed by a three-course bespoke menu paired with four additional wines. Join Fareham Wine Cellar for an unforgettable evening of fine wine and dining.

Californian Wine Tasting Dinner

with Cristina Torres of Marimar Estate

About Marimar Estate

The owner of Marimar Estate is Marimar Torres, the sister of Miguel A. Torres, patriarch and CEO of the world-famous Torres Wine company in Spain. Marimar Torres began planting vines in 1986 and the estate is one of the only Californian vineyards to be planted in the European style with high-density planting, about four times more than the traditional Californian planting density. This favours competition among plants and roots, reducing yield in the plants. The vines live for longer in this way and develop more intense and elegant aromas, greater concentration of flavours and more balance. The winery was completed in 1992 and sits on a hill surrounded by the estate vineyards.

A passionate advocate for sustainability, Marimar has implemented ecological practices since 2003, achieving full organic certification in 2006 and adopting biodynamic farming across her estate. The 100% solar-powered Marimar Estate recycles waste, uses cover crops, and supports biodiversity with chickens, owl boxes, and beehives. Located in the cool Green Valley near the Pacific Ocean, the vineyards offer an ideal microclimate for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, reflecting Marimar’s commitment to environmental stewardship and exceptional winemaking.

Marimar Estate Cristina Pinot Noir – available to buy here.

A Brief Review & Some Photos

Last week, we had the great privilege of welcoming Cristina Torres from Marimar Estate, who hosted a wine tasting and dinner showcasing some of her fantastic Californian wines.

The evening at Lysses House Hotel began with a short tasting of their Albarino, Acero Chardonnay, Tempranillo and La Masia Pinot Noir.

Chef Clive Wright produced a great menu. The starter was a ham hock and sun-blushed tomato croquette, laced with tarragon and served with a fennel-cucumber salad, which paired perfectly with the oaky and vibrant La Masia Chardonnay. A main course of duck confit was served with two Pinot Noirs: the fresher, sweeter Mas Cavalls and the dark, more complex and herbaceous Cristina, named after Cristina herself. It was a great opportunity to try the two very different Pinots side by side. The dessert, an orange cake, was served with one of the Spanish Torres wines, the always popular Torres Floralis Moscatel Oro.

It was a very enjoyable evening, the wine and food pairings worked very well and we had some very positive feedback from attendees. On the night, in terms of orders, the three most popular wines were the La Masia Chardonnay, followed by the Albarino and the Tempranillo – a surprise to see the Albarino and Tempranillo ahead of the Pinots!

A massive thank you to Cristina and all involved for a brilliant evening.