Erich began making wine as an amateur while teaching track and field at San Diego High in the early 1970s. During his summers off from teaching, Erich worked in the cellar for a few wineries, fueling his love for wine. In 1979, he was offered a cellar job at Chateau St. Jean after the winemaker tasted his wine in an amateur winemaking contest.  Erich soon retired from teaching and began working for Chateau St. Jean, Simi Winery, and eventually Belvedere before starting his winery.

In 1981, Erich opened Rabbit Ridge Winery and Vineyards in Healdsburg, named after his college track nickname, “The Rabbit”.  Rabbit Ridge continued growing and producing wine in Sonoma County until 2007, when the facility was sold and all operations were consolidated in Paso Robles on the Central Coast.

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Erich began purchasing vineyard acreage in 1996 after becoming enamored by the ideal grape growing climate and soils west of Highway 101 in the Templeton Gap of California.  This steep, hilly region with limestone soils and a maritime cooling influence keeps it 10 to 15 degrees cooler than in the town of Paso Robles to the east.  After moving to Paso Robles in 1996, Erich began planting over 300 acres of land with premium grapes. In 2002, Erich and Joanne built a new winery in Paso Robles. The new winery crushed its first grapes with only the crush pad and upper tank room, as that was all that was complete.  The 55,000 square foot winery was permitted to produce up to 100,000 cases per year, but Erich wanted to stay small and only produced 10,000.

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In 1998, Erich met his wife, Joanne James, a lifelong resident of St. Petersburg, Florida, while promoting Rabbit Ridge wines at one of Disney’s top restaurants. Joanne was interviewing with Rabbit Ridge’s wine distributor at the same time, and the two met.  Having graduated from Northeast High School and Eckerd College, Joanne was running her own catering business and working as a runway model in St. Petersburg, as well as having a fledgling interest in good wine.  Another common interest is that they are both Athletes. Erich was a record-setting long-distance runner and played basketball.  Joanne is in the Hall of Fame at her high school in track and field and broke state records in the high jump and 330 hurdles. Erich and Joanne were married in 1999 and maintained a residence in Florida until early 2011.  With Joanne’s daughter, Sarah Fleming, Garrett’s graduation from Canterbury School, and her move to college, the Russells moved to Paso Robles year-round. 

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Joanne joined Erich in the business, putting her marketing degree to work in an assortment of duties, including direct sales, wine club coordinator, government compliance, marketing, designing all of the wine labels, and occasionally pouring wine in the tasting room.  In her spare time, she published her own cookbook in 2004, “A Cook's Tour of Rabbit Ridge Winery.”  In the true Italian flare and use of vineyard land, it was a natural step for Joanne and Erich to begin planting both olive trees and lavender.  Joanne and Erich produced extra virgin olive oil under their Passione Divina and Olive Diva labels. Their olive trees were oil-producing Italian varietals. Over the years, Joanne’s oil has won Best in Class, two gold medals, and a silver medal at the California Mid-State Fair. Joanne now imports evoo from Tuscany. 

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Three Rabbit Ridge wines have been named to the ‘Top 100 Wines of the World’ by Wine Spectator. Food and Wine Magazine named Rabbit Ridge Zinfandel as the ‘Best Red Wine Value of the Year’ in 1999. Additionally, Rabbit Ridge wines have been poured at the White House, and the Zinfandel has been one of the house wines at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Erich's Chardonnay was also one of the house wines at the French Laundry Restaurant in Yountville, California.

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In November 2019, Joanne and Erich created their new brand, Passione Divina. In October 2020, Erich sold Rabbit Ridge. To date, Joanne and Erich continue to create wines under the Passione Divina label and the Russell Family labels.

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