Kosta Browne Winery

Dan Kosta and Michael Browne, both passionate about Pinot Noir, were working at the John Ash & Co. restaurant in Santa Rosa, and in 1997 they both saw the handwriting on the wall: Pinot Noir was destined to become a hot ticket. From the explosive sales of the wine they saw at the restaurant to the excitement shown by Napa Valley wineries for land in western Sonoma County, Dan and Michael chose to align themselves exclusively with this grape and make small amounts of wines from the best vineyards.

Both saved money they got at the restaurant (two months of tips) and that gave them the enough money to buy a half ton of Pinot Noir (which would make about 80 gallons (or about 33 cases of wine). They also bought a used barrel and an old hand-crank stemmer-crusher. That was the beginning of Kosta-Browne wines. But the project never had much money, so in 2001, Dan and Michael partnered with Chris Costello and his family, who provided the business experience.

Today, Kosta-Browne Pinots are some of the hottest wines among wine collectors and the basic structure of the winery is funding from family members and friends who understood that investing in the vision would be worth it. This particular wine, extremely limited in supply, is dramatic proof that Kosta-Browne has arrived. It displays a superb wild cherry and spice aroma, with a lot more tannin and a Burgundian lilt. This is a superb, darker styled wine, but is still distinctively Pinot. Only 400 cases were produced.

Reviewed May 16, 2007 by Dan Berger.