The Blue Danube Wine Company was founded in 2002 to import fine Central European wines to the U.S. market. The company focuses on wines from Austria and Hungary that are fairly rare in the U.S.
Before founding the company, Frank Dietrich and Zsuzsanna Molnar, a husband and wife team worked for many years as executives in American computer and networking companies with responsibilities for developing the Central/Eastern European market. Born in Europe, speaking the languages, and understanding the business customs have provided tremendous assets to bring the love and appreciation of these unique wines and the people who make them to a broader market.
We are developing a presence and conducting tastings at wine shows and festivals, cultural events, and wine clubs. If you are interested, please contact us, we are happy to work with you to make our wines part of your event.
 

Stetson Robbins (AKA: the hedonist) Sales Manager of Blue Danube Wine Co. joined the team in Spring of 2008 as the first dedicated Southern California sales person. His obsession with wine is credited to a life long interest in the institution of dining and his studies of Greek wine culture during college at Long Beach state, where he earned a degree in theater. To him wine is part of an aesthetic total that brings together nature, culture, history and the human desire to share.
Most days Stetson Robbins can be found on the streets of Los Angeles speeding around with a temperature controlled bag full of Blue Danube Wine Co. imports, hosting wine dinners or pouring at tastings. Having spent considerable time abroad with the producers he is heavily involved with selection of wines, staff education and writing for the website. When not working with wine he can be found surfing, running or cooking with his wife Kristyn.

At 15, Eric started washing dishes at The Ranch House in Ojai, California. After 4 years, multiple titles, and nightly brown bag tastings with a sommelier with over 30 years experience, he became enamored with the story, culture, and community of wine. Moving to San Francisco in 2005 after two years living in Europe (Copenhagen & Rome), he found a job at Teatro Zinzanni, a 3-hour European cabaret meets Vaudevillian circus.
After 6 years he left the circus to start an internship with Crushpad, a pioneering San Francisco Custom Crush that makes over 700 small lot wines for people all over the world. In 2010, Eric worked harvest for a small Berkeley winery called “A Donkey and Goat,” and did everything from grape to bottle including making his own barrel. D&G was named one of the Top 5 Winemakers to Watch in 2011 by the SF Chronicle. Eric joined Blue Danube in the Spring of 2011.

Rachel's passion for both food and wine started at an early age. As a Bay Area native with foodie parents, Rachel grew up eating at some of the most notable restaurants of the early farm to table pioneers. At the table, she listened to her father talk about wine and him letting her taste. He weaned her on first growths and Napa cabs. Rachel has since gone on to receive her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara in Political Science and Business Economics. She had planned to go to law school but instead decided to follow her life's passion: wine. Rachel has since expanded and honed her wine knowledge, taking classes and acquiring certifications through the Wine Studies Program at UC Berkeley and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET). Rachel has worked in outside sales for boutique, domestic producers as well as a small Bulgarian import and distribution company. She has also helped her father, a commercial winemaker, assisting from harvesting to bottling, sales and marketing.

Tess, now Brooklyn-based, has been a lifelong world traveler and lover of food and drink. She holds various certifications from wine and spirit institutions as well as an MA from University of East Anglia, UK in Philosophy of Food and Drink. She has found a happy home managing the New York market for Blue Danube where she shares her passion for artistic wines and the beauty of taste.

Born in Paris and raised in the South of France, Catherine moved to the Bay Area in 1989 where she worked for the high-tech industry. She started getting serious about wine a few years ago when she and her husband built a wine cellar under their house. In order to keep track of her growing wine collection, she developed ManageYourCellar.com, a cellar management website that has attracted wine lovers from all over the world. Catherine has recently joined Blue Danube to focus on Web Design and Development.
At home, Catherine enjoys mature reds, zesty whites and likes to experiment with new recipes to pair wine with food. And when she is not cooking or tasting wines, she loves hiking and skiing with her family.