Merry Edwards sold

Roederer has purchased Merry Edwards, should be a good thing.??

How should this affect quality or pricing? I love their SB but is already on the high end of my price range for SB’s

I think its a good thing. Only time will tell how it plays off. It looks like Roederer is comfortable with continuity at the winery and at the moment doesn’t plan to make a huge overhaul. I think it is also a good thing when the seller is happy and comfortable with the sale / transition. I am sure the payout was nice too. I doubt the style of the wine will change much as its already pretty unique and responsible for the success the brand has experienced.

Roederer stated that they want to increase DTC relationships. I doubt they will rapidly increase pricing as that would turn off many consumers especially long time supporters. Like I said before only time will tell.

Maybe we’ll get some Russian River sparklers out of it champagne.gif

There’s a name that mysteriously does not get as much mention as it deserves.
At one time, Merry Edwards was right up there with the other top names in Calif pinot during the height of the pinot-bubble.
I have one or two of the more expensive bottlings hiding in my cellar somewhere. I forget that my few Cali pinots are not going to age the way my Burgs and Oregonians do. Excepting my ABC Knox Alexanders but I digress. They need to be located and consumed.

Interesting. Hopefully the quality of wine will stay high.

As a side note, I definitely hope the tasting experience doesn’t change. That was one of the highlights of our last trip out there, the service was impeccable. They were very generous hosts.

Agreed they are a must visit on any RRV getaway.

Remember that 90% of American wine is produced in California. so Cali Pinot to Oregon Pinot is not apples to apples.
Ian

I agree with Hank’s take .I think it is a good thing that Roederer purchased it rather than some Mega corp.I think quality will stay at a high level.

Agreed.

Sucks! Love her SB and being able to pop in for a free tasting anytime

Interesting to me that her children did not want to get involved in the family business.

Must be why Merry Edwards has been so scarce for my local restaurants and retail this winter.

Been a huge fan of her wines for many years, long may the quality stay so high. And agreed with other posters that visiting is a must - really great experience, and free to boot.

Sad to hear, as ME was my first “big time” wine purchase many years ago. My wife and I even did a tasting there many many moons ago.

I will buy some '16 & '17.

Screw that - this woman produced some of the greatest Chardonnays in California history - the only reason she turned to Pinot Noir was because she couldn’t sell her Chardonnays back in the 1980s. The whites she did at Matanzas Creek back in the early 80s are still SO vivid in my mind -

I hope they keep the wines the same. The SB is one of my go to summer whites. I can’t say that I have much experience with the pinot, but it has always been something I’ve thought about. But the SB, dare I say, the best American SB year over year.

My Apple photo memories feature popped up this morning. On this day in 2013 I was up at Mount Eden vineyards tasting the legendary 1974 cabernet with Jeffrey Patterson. A little bit of trivia: He didn’t make that wine. Merry Edwards did. Nice track record all the way back to the early 70’s!

-Joe

Good luck to her and I hope she did very well in the transaction! Despite her being a well known winemaker, I don’t think she has been as widely recognized as she deserves. I doubt she cares much, though.