How about a full day with delicious wines and golf among redwood trees? In the wine valley of Sonoma in California, United States, it’s possible.

Marimar Torres is the daughter of the legendary wine king Don Miguel Torres, who died in 1991. In the beautiful green wine valley of Sonoma, just north of San Francisco in the U.S., his daughter has created an estate that truly honors his memory.

On 24 hectares different clones of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are cultivated, and above all the latter wines are absolutely of world class. Elegant shades of red and dark berries, and a light hint of French oak barrels provides a balanced overview. With velvety structure and settled tannin the wines should also be able to be stored a long time without loss of quality.

Sonoma, Napa and the entire U.S. wine industry have a relatively short history and it was not before the sixties that it began to produce quality wines in earnest. The most prominent standard-bearer was Robert Mondavi who then broke away from his previous job and began producing wines that would soon match the world's most prominent - at the time, especially  French wines in the form of red Bordeaux and white Burgundy. Today it is a completely different story, and in both Sonoma and Napa Valley wines are grown that many growers in the "old world" ought to envy.

On Marimar Torres’ Estate the first grapes were grown in 1986 and today four different wines are made - equal pairs of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The wine is made with European methods adapted to the area's special conditions. This means that the grapes are grown more frequently than on other estates in the area. Marimar Torres’ wines have received excellent ratings in the international press, and I can only state that a visit is in order if you are in the area.

If you would like to play golf the same day there are actually a number of different alternatives in the vicinity. One is the semi-slumbering Alistair Mackenzie designed Northwood, where you play in the shade of giant redwood trees. And because the course only has nine holes, you don’t have to rush through the wine tasting to catch a round.

By Mikael Andersson