Founded in 1997 by Dan Kosta and Michael Browne as a hobby funded by waitering tips, Kosta Browne grew into one of California's most coveted Pinot Noir producers. Sold to J.W. Childs in 2009 and Duckhorn in 2018. Winemaker Julien Howsepian leads the Sebastopol cellar. Allocation-list only.
The Kosta Browne story is one of California wine's great underdog narratives. In 1997, Dan Kosta and Michael Browne, two waiters at John Ash & Co. restaurant in Santa Rosa, pooled $30,000 in saved tips to make their first barrel of Pinot Noir. They worked nights restaurant shifts and made wine during the day in a small Sebastopol facility, building a mailing list one bottle at a time. By the mid-2000s the wines had become benchmarks for richly expressive, fruit-forward California Pinot Noir, racking up 100-point Wine Spectator scores and a years-long waiting list. The label specialized in single-vineyard bottlings from Sonoma Coast, Russian River, and Santa Lucia Highlands.
Russian River Valley Pinot Noir — The appellation flagship; lush, layered, and the wine that built the cult following.
Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir — A multi-vineyard blend expressing the cooler, wind-swept coast.
Gap's Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast — A single-vineyard bottling from the iconic Petaluma Gap site.
4-Barrel Pinot Noir — The most limited wine in the house, blended each year from just four standout barrels as a members' thank-you.
Russian River Valley Chardonnay — The cool-climate white that complements the Pinot program.
In 2009 Dan and Michael sold a majority stake to private equity firm J.W. Childs Associates while remaining at the winery. In 2018 Duckhorn Wine Company acquired Kosta Browne, marking the brand's entry into a larger Sonoma luxury portfolio. Winemaker Julien Howsepian took over the cellar in 2018 after a stint at Saxum and continues the single-vineyard Pinot Noir tradition. The Sebastopol winery and tasting room — the Sangiacomo Family's former Barlow Building complex — hosts seated tastings by reservation, with allocation-list members receiving priority on a rotating set of single-vineyard wines including the One Sixteen, 4-Barrel, and Sonoma Coast bottlings. The list remains famously oversubscribed.
A first-generation American with a French father and Dutch mother, Julien Howsepian grew up in the Bay Area visiting wine-industry relatives in France, a connection that drew him to study viticulture and enology at UC Davis. He joined Kosta Browne in 2012 as one of twelve harvest interns and worked closely with co-founder Michael Browne, rising through production assistant, cellar master, and assistant winemaker before being named — at age 34 in 2019 — only the third winemaker in the winery's history. Building on Kosta Browne's reputation for benchmark California Pinot Noir, he has elevated its Chardonnay program, launched a sparkling wine, and extended the portfolio into Oregon's Willamette Valley and the grand cru vineyards of Burgundy.
Kosta Browne began with a tip envelope. In 1997, Dan Kosta — the general manager — and Michael Browne — the sommelier — were working at John Ash & Co. in Santa Rosa when they began squirreling away $10 a night from their tips. Two months later they had enough for a half-ton of Pinot Noir, a used barrel, and a hand-crank crusher, and made 24 cases. Word spread with the 2003 vintage, and their 2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir was named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year. The “tip-envelope” origin remains one of California wine’s great underdog stories.
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Russian River Valley Pinot Noir — The appellation flagship; lush, layered, and the wine that built the cult following.
Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir — A multi-vineyard blend expressing the cooler, wind-swept coast.
Gap's Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast — A single-vineyard bottling from the iconic Petaluma Gap site.
4-Barrel Pinot Noir — The most limited wine in the house, blended each year from just four standout barrels as a members' thank-you.
Russian River Valley Chardonnay — The cool-climate white that complements the Pinot program.
The Kosta Browne story is one of California wine's great underdog narratives. In 1997, Dan Kosta and Michael Browne, two waiters at John Ash & Co. restaurant in Santa Rosa, pooled $30,000 in saved tips to make their first barrel of Pinot Noir. They worked nights restaurant shifts and made wine during the day in a small Sebastopol facility, building a mailing list one bottle at a time. By the mid-2000s the wines had become benchmarks for richly expressive, fruit-forward California Pinot Noir, racking up 100-point Wine Spectator scores and a years-long waiting list. The label specialized in single-vineyard bottlings from Sonoma Coast, Russian River, and Santa Lucia Highlands.
In 2009 Dan and Michael sold a majority stake to private equity firm J.W. Childs Associates while remaining at the winery. In 2018 Duckhorn Wine Company acquired Kosta Browne, marking the brand's entry into a larger Sonoma luxury portfolio. Winemaker Julien Howsepian took over the cellar in 2018 after a stint at Saxum and continues the single-vineyard Pinot Noir tradition. The Sebastopol winery and tasting room — the Sangiacomo Family's former Barlow Building complex — hosts seated tastings by reservation, with allocation-list members receiving priority on a rotating set of single-vineyard wines including the One Sixteen, 4-Barrel, and Sonoma Coast bottlings. The list remains famously oversubscribed.
A first-generation American with a French father and Dutch mother, Julien Howsepian grew up in the Bay Area visiting wine-industry relatives in France, a connection that drew him to study viticulture and enology at UC Davis. He joined Kosta Browne in 2012 as one of twelve harvest interns and worked closely with co-founder Michael Browne, rising through production assistant, cellar master, and assistant winemaker before being named — at age 34 in 2019 — only the third winemaker in the winery's history. Building on Kosta Browne's reputation for benchmark California Pinot Noir, he has elevated its Chardonnay program, launched a sparkling wine, and extended the portfolio into Oregon's Willamette Valley and the grand cru vineyards of Burgundy.
Kosta Browne began with a tip envelope. In 1997, Dan Kosta — the general manager — and Michael Browne — the sommelier — were working at John Ash & Co. in Santa Rosa when they began squirreling away $10 a night from their tips. Two months later they had enough for a half-ton of Pinot Noir, a used barrel, and a hand-crank crusher, and made 24 cases. Word spread with the 2003 vintage, and their 2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir was named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year. The “tip-envelope” origin remains one of California wine’s great underdog stories.
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