I was Google-ing around and came across this post from last year by Alder at Vinography. Aside from giving my neighbor Joseph Swan great scores across the board, he also had this to say about our AVA in the comments section:

For my money, most of the Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley appellations produce the most consistently great wines, and the largest quantity of them. However, because these are big areas there are also a lot of wines that come from there that are just OK. However, find a good producer, who you know get’s good grapes, and their RRV or SC Pinots in 02,03, and 04 will be a good bet.

I think these represent my favorite styles as well — classically cool climate with cranberry, pomegranate, and red currant being the dominant flavor profiles with the most successful wines having a hint of earthy tea or exotic spices, some tannin, and a good backbone of acidity.

As you can imagine, I happen to think that Alder has terrific taste in Pinots.

Edit: I feel obliged to mention Alder was discussing only California pinot wine regions. While I still feel that RRV stacks up with them, some of the very best pinots consistently call either France or Oregon home.

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