We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erin Reddan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erin below.
Erin, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Resilience for me was built pre-dawn, one mile at a time. I grew up as a competitive runner, often lacing up before sunrise and learning that discipline, grit, and progress are built in the quiet hours when no one is watching. Sports taught me the fundamentals of resilience that now fuel my business: get comfortable with discomfort, keep going through setbacks, dig deep when things aren’t going your way, and—most importantly—consistently show up again and again.
Neither are glamorous. It’s crack-of-dawn workouts while everyone else is sleeping, or late nights working on your business while friends are out having fun. In running, most people quit before they hit their stride. The same is true in entrepreneurship. Both require a crazy level of self-belief and the patience to keep going even when progress feels invisible.
That foundation is what I lean on now at ECR Vintners. Building a business from the ground up means long days, late nights, and solving problems without a playbook. Just like with running, there are moments that test your endurance—but also moments of clarity, joy, and flow that make all the hard work worth it. And at the end of the day at least there’s wine, phew!
These days, I still run pre-dawn laps in Central Park, sharpening that same muscle of resilience I built years ago. And in the evenings, I pour that energy into wine — crafting, educating, and creating experiences that connect people. Running built the foundation, but building a wine company continues to refine and expand how I live resilience every day.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m Erin Reddan, founder of ECR Vintners — a wine company I built to bridge a gap I saw while working in New York City’s wine scene. Too often, California wines felt either overly exclusive or cheap and gimmicky, with little in between. At the same time, I noticed millennial women like me were reaching for European bottles instead of exploring what California had to offer. I wanted to change that.
ECR Vintners focuses on small-batch, boutique California wines crafted with a modern palate in mind: crisp, mineral-driven whites, lighter, more approachable reds, and sparkling wines designed for everyday enjoyment. Beyond just making wine, I wanted to create an approachable, inclusive space for wine education and connection — whether that’s through intimate tastings, private events, or curated experiences that make wine feel less intimidating and a lot more fun.
What makes this most exciting for me is seeing people light up when they realize wine doesn’t have to be complicated to be enjoyable. For women especially, wine has historically been marketed either in a condescending way or excluded from serious conversations. My mission is to put women at the center — crafting wines with them in mind and giving them the confidence to learn and trust their own palates.
Right now, I’m especially excited about hosting curated tasting events in New York City — like my upcoming Napa to New York tasting — where people can try through the full portfolio of seven wines with food pairings. I’ve also recently released two vintages of Trousseau Gris, an extremely rare varietal from Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, which has quickly become a favorite among both wine enthusiasts and everyday wine lovers looking to try something new.
At its heart, ECR Vintners is about connection: great wine, shared moments, and giving people the confidence to make choices they love — starting with what’s in their glass.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My journey is defined by three core qualities: curiosity, confidence, and tenacity.
My entire path into the wine industry started with a deep-seated curiosity about its history, agriculture, and unparalleled ability to bring people together across millennia. This same drive is what shapes my company today. I’m a naturally curious conversationalist, which is essential to my work. I spend time learning from millennial women—understanding the wines they reach for and the contexts in which they enjoy them. This insight is critical because I believe the best wine experiences seamlessly blend both product and hospitality.
Confidence is a quality I have refined over time, and both success and failure have hammered home a single lesson: always bet on yourself. I am risk-averse in most areas in life, but I will stake everything on my own abilities and vision without hesitation.
Finally, tenacity is non-negotiable when building anything from the ground up. Learning to push past exhaustion, absorb rejection, and constantly pivot are not innate skills; they are muscles you develop through consistent, focused practice.
Many of these qualities are built through experience, which is why my best advice is simple: be a beginner in as many things as possible. My ability to refine these three qualities stems from a willingness to try new things and be genuinely bad at them when starting out. The more you try—whether it’s a new sport, a hobby, career, or an instrument—the more you build a library of experiences that round you into the kind of person who can confidently and tenaciously pursue any new venture.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Yes, we are actively seeking partners and collaborators whose work aligns with our mission of making high-quality California wine vibrant, accessible, and unpretentious for millennial women.
We are primarily looking to connect with:
Lifestyle & Hospitality Brands: Individuals or companies that cater to our core audience and share our commitment to elevated, yet approachable, experiences. This includes event planners, female-founded businesses in food, beauty, or wellness, or direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands interested in co-marketing or event series.
Content Creators & Media: Writers, podcasters, or influencers who focus on food, lifestyle, hosting, or entrepreneurship and can genuinely speak to our products and the philosophy of blending product and hospitality.
NYC-Based Event Partners: Given our focus on private tastings and curated wine education in the New York City area, we are keen to collaborate with venues, chefs, or organizations looking for a unique, modern wine element for their events. But for the right collaboration, we’re willing to travel.
How to Connect
If our mission resonates with you, the best way to start the conversation is directly through our website.
Please visit the Contact page on www.ecrvintners.com and send a detailed inquiry outlining your idea, your organization, and why you feel we would be a great fit. I look forward to hearing from you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ecrvintners.com
- Instagram: @ecr_vintners
Image Credits
Left Coast Marketing, Sam Popp, Angela Acosta, Steve Kouvaros (each photo is one of these)
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
