Fodor's Expert Review Merry Edwards Winery

Winemaker Merry Edwards has long extolled the Russian River Valley as "the epicenter of great Pinot Noir." The winery that bears her name, since 2019 owned by the Roederer Estate sparkling-wine house, produces single-vineyard and blended wines that express the unique characteristics of the soils, climates, and grape clones from which they derive. (Edwards's research into Pinot Noir clones has been so extensive that one is named after her.) Edwards preferred the Russian River as a growing site, believing that the warmer-than-average daytime temperatures encouraged more intense fruit, with the evening fogs mitigating the extra heat's potentially adverse effects. The winery also makes Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Appellation Tasting provides a three-wine, 30-minute introduction to the brand and the Russian River Valley, but consider stepping up to the Terroir Tasting of several Pinot Noirs.