Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/56967
COVER STORY By Ben Narasin BROWNE KOSTA WINERY Rises to the Top The Sonoma County producer's long road to overnight success efore the Kosta Browne name became synonymous with highly sought-after Sonoma County pinot noir, and the win- ery landed the No. 1 spot on Wine Spectator's 2011 "Top 100" list of the year's most exciting wines, the two founders of the eponymous winery just wanted to find a way into the business. 36 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT MAR - APR 2012 Dan Kosta and Michael Browne were working together at John Ash & Co. Restaurant in Santa Rosa, Calif., in the early 1990s, when they realized a common attraction to the wine industry. "I fell in love with wine working at John Ash," Browne said. "I was 27 and I want- ed to try making wine." By 1997, Browne and Kosta had saved enough money to buy some grapes for their first barrel of wine, plus a little extra. They made one barrel of pinot noir, which would become their focus and fame, and a few gallons of late-harvest French colombard. They poured the wines at the restaurant and received encouraging reactions. The story has circulated that WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM