Erin Reddan is the founder of ECR Vintners, a NYC-based wine company on a mission to make wine approachable, fun, and confidence-boosting. She crafts thoughtful, easy-to-enjoy wines from Napa, CA, designed for real-life gatherings. After years in the industry (tasting rooms and teaching wine education classes), Erin noticed that people love wine but often feel intimidated by ratings, rules, and insider language — so she started making crisp whites, balanced reds, and sparkling wines her friends actually wanted to drink and share. ECR Vintners pairs these bottles with relaxed tasting experiences, helping people trust their taste, host with ease, and enjoy wine the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
Media Inquiries: erin@ecrvintners.com | https://ecrvintners.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
ECR Vintners began the way many good ideas do—around a table with friends and a few glasses of wine. I noticed that my friends, mostly millennial women, often skipped over California wines, assuming they were all big Napa Cabernets or heavily oaked Chardonnays, and instead gravitated toward European styles like Sancerre or Chablis. Having experienced the range and vibrancy of Napa and Sonoma wines firsthand, I wanted to change that perception.
So I began crafting California wines with the balance my friends actually enjoyed—higher acidity, softer tannins, and a more approachable style. As the portfolio grew, it became clear that the experience mattered as much as the bottle. ECR is built around welcoming, judgment-free tastings that help people trust their own palate. Today the brand reflects that mission: a female-founded, bootstrapped company focused on making California wine more approachable, intuitive, and enjoyable to share with friends.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
If there were no constraints, I would expand ECR Vintners both in production and in the ways people experience wine. I’d love to craft a broader portfolio of wines — more seasonal releases, small-batch experiments, and limited editions — sourced from the best vineyards in California and beyond, so we could showcase the diversity and magic of each region in approachable, intuitive styles.
Equally important would be meeting people where they are. I love spending time in tasting rooms and wine bars, but if we want more people to learn about and enjoy wine, we need to bring it into their everyday lives — from dinner parties and community gatherings to pop-ups in lifestyle boutiques, fashion showrooms, and wellness spaces. I’d host more immersive tastings everywhere people naturally gather, pairing wine with real-life experiences that are social, approachable, and confidence-building.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
If I had to pick just one wine that’s most emblematic of ECR Vintners, it would be our Trousseau Gris. I often joke that we’re a wine company for “Sancerre lovers” — or that our stainless steel Chardonnay is every millennial woman’s favorite wine but she just doesn’t know it yet. Trousseau Gris fits that ethos perfectly: it’s crisp, bright, and nuanced, with the minerality and elegance of a Loire Valley white but with California vibrancy and personality.
We have now produced three vintages with slightly different flavor profiles using the same winemaking: fermented and aged in stainless steel with a little lees aging. I’ve found this is the style of winemaking that gets people to think, “oh, I like THIS California wine and usually don’t reach for California wines.”
I also love working with it because it’s rare — sourced from a single vineyard in the Russian River Valley — and showcases a side of California wine that many people overlook. Trousseau Gris allows me to craft a California wine that feels approachable, intuitive, and fun, while still offering complexity and balance. It’s a wine that sparks curiosity, opens conversations, and always finds a place on the table at tastings and gatherings, reflecting exactly what ECR Vintners is all about: confidence, connection, and enjoyment without intimidation. Read my wine review here.
Bonus Question: What are your wholehearted convictions related to the wine business? Not about your wines!
I believe that if we want younger generations to love wine, we need to meet them where they are and make it approachable. After years in tasting rooms and leading wine education classes in New York City, I’ve seen it firsthand: people like wine — they just don’t always know enough to expand beyond the most popular bottles. Why? Wine can be overwhelming, jargon-heavy, and intimidating.
The real opportunity is creating experiences for everyday wine drinkers — relaxed, fun, and educational, without being a lecture. Millennials and Gen Z want to enjoy good wine and are all about experiences, but they don’t have the time or energy to study it. The middle ground is simple: just enough context to build confidence, paired with approachable, shareable wines that make people say, “I’ve got this.” That’s exactly what we aim to do at ECR Vintners, and we hope many other people will join us!