Winery Profile: Kosta Browne

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures | Posted on 08-06-2012

Note: This is a guest post from Robert Dwyer of The Wellesley Wine Press.

The author, Robert Dwyer, with Kosta Browne executive winemaker Michael Browne.

Kosta Browne is a Sonoma-based producer of mostly Pinot Noir made in a ripe, fruit-forward style. The winery is named after founders Dan Kosta and Michael Browne, who started the winery while working together at the John Ash & Co. restaurant in Santa Rosa.

As the story goes, they pooled a portion of their tips each night with the idea of one day starting a winery. They eventually scraped together enough money to produce a barrel or two of wine — and they’ve since grown the brand into one of the most desirable in California.

These are interesting times at Kosta Browne. In 2009, the winery was acquired by Vincraft for almost $40 million. In 2011, one of its wines was named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year. And in 2012, one of its winemakers left the firm. But through it all, Kosta Browne’s Pinot Noirs remain the standard for bold domestic Pinot Noir.

Kosta Browne’s appellation Pinot Noirs sell for $58 and its single vineyard wines go for $72. Professional ratings for the wines have been impressive over the years. After a string of scores in the upper 90s, Wine Spectator crowned the 2009 Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (96 WS/$58) its wine of the year. Although production levels are around 11,000 cases, there still isn’t enough to satisfy demand, making the mailing list particularly hard to crack.

It’s my one “no brainer” allocation I buy each year without hesitation.

But not everyone shares my enthusiasm for Kosta Browne. Thanks to its unapologetically bold style, the winery has developed a reputation for producing wines that are over the top. Too ripe. Gloppy. On steroids. Spiked with Syrah. Wine enthusiasts can get really (surprisingly) cranked up about wines like Kosta Browne’s being regarded as some of the best around. Read the rest of this entry »