Meet Erin Reddan, Founder of ECR Vintners, Small-Batch California Wine
There’s a moment that happens often when running a wine tasting or teaching a wine class.
Someone takes a sip, looks around, and says something like:
“Okay wait…I like this and I don’t usually like Chardonnay (enter in other varietal).”
And every single time, I think the same thing:
Why does wine exist in a vacuum? Why has it become overwhelming or complicated?
Because somewhere along the way, wine became more about performing knowledge than actually enjoying what’s in the glass. Too many rules. Too much snobbery. Too many people pretending to understand tasting notes that sound insane. You mean you don’t know what gooseberry tastes like? No, I grew up on the east coast!
That’s never been my thing. So let me properly introduce myself.
Hi, I’m Erin — founder of ECR Vintners.
What started as making small-batch California wines after listening to friends HATE on California wine because of what they knew it to be (bold or jammy reds and overly oaked Chardonnay), I decided to create a whole portfolio that would appease the tastes of millennial women using grapes from premier CA vineyards. But it ended up being a portfolio of wines all perfectly suited to pair with food and everyday life. It also slowly became something bigger: helping people feel more confident around wine without making it feel intimidating, exclusive, or overly serious and just FUN.
Because yes, I love wine. But I also love:
dinner parties that go longer than planned
the first glass while cooking
texting friends “wine tonight?”
helping someone realize they actually do know what they like, but they’ve just been TOLD things about wine vs. helping someone guide them
That’s the version of wine I care about.
Not perfection.
Not gatekeeping.
Not memorizing every village in Burgundy before you’re “allowed” to order confidently.
Just taste. Hospitality. Curiosity. Fun.
Why do I tell people that ECR Vintners is a wine hospitality company?
Over time, I realized ECR Vintners was becoming less of a traditional wine company that sold wine and more of a wine hospitality company.
The wines are still here (obviously).
But so are:
tastings
events
wine education
Tastemaker Texts (these are bi-weekly texts that go out Tuesday/Thursday with fun wine tips that coincide with this Substack)
conversations about style, hosting, confidence, and everyday life
Because wine doesn’t live in a vacuum.
It lives at birthday dinners.
On coffee tables with takeout.
At corporate events.
At girls’ nights.
At dinner parties.
During long weeks and very good weekends.
Wine is part of life. And I wanted a space to talk about it that way.
Why The Tastemaker Edit?
Honestly? Because I wanted room to say more.
Instagram can be beautiful, but sometimes I want to explain why everyone thinks sulfites cause headaches. Or why people panic in the wine aisle. Or why the most expensive bottle isn’t always the smartest choice for you.
And I wanted to do it in a way that feels like a conversation with a friend, not a lecture from a sommelier.
So this space is for:
people who love wine but don’t want to overthink it
people figuring out their “wine style” (I literally hand out wine style cards at events when I lead tastings now so I can write down phrases/words for people to describe what they like/don’t like the next time they’re in a wine bar/wine shop)
people who want to host more but feel overwhelmed by a sea of bottles in the wine store
people who already have great taste and just want more language and confidence around it
In other words: probably you.
The Real Takeaway
You do not need to know everything about wine to enjoy it.
You do not need to pronounce every region perfectly.
You do not need to spend a fortune.
You do not need to like what everyone else likes.
You just need curiosity…and a bottle opener.
The rest, we’ll figure out together. Thanks for joining!