Merry Edwards, a pioneer in the U.S. wine industry, will be coming to Five Fifty-Five for the restaurant’s first wine dinner on Tuesday.

Edwards began making wine in California when women in the industry were rare and not treated equally. She was one of the first women to graduate from the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California-Davis, and started her own label in 1997.

Edwards makes outstanding Russian River pinot noirs and award-winning sauvignon blancs. In February, she will be inducted into the Culinary Institute of America’s Vintner’s Hall of Fame.

The evening at Five Fifty-Five will begin at 6:30 p.m. with passed appetizers served with Meredith Cuvee LD Sparkling Wine.

Here’s the menu for the 7 p.m. dinner, along with the wine pairings from Edwards:

Creamy celery root soup, butter-poached Maine lobster, locally harvested kelp, truffle foam

Paired with: Merry Edwards 2010 Olivet Lane Chardonnay

Duck confit, Aroostook County potato dumplings, organic mushrooms, creme fraiche, New England cranberries

Paired with: Merry Edwards 2009 Russian River Pinot Noir

Pineland Farms strip loin, braised oxtail ravioli, salsify two ways, pinot noir reduction

Paired with: Merry Edwards 2010 Coopersmith Vineyard Pinot Noir

Merry Edwards 2007 Tobias Glen Pinot Noir

Malted chocolate mousse, chocolate-Cherry Coke ice cream, sour cherry syrup

The dinner costs $100 per person, and seating is limited. For reservations, call 761-0555.