Prime for pinot

Sometimes it takes a long time to be an overnight success.

For Dan Kosta and Michael Browne, it took precisely eight years. And then in a flash, their winery Kosta Browne became a rock star, a revered Russian River pinot noir producer, a hit.

"There was a lot of work leading up to the &‘overnight success' in 2005," said Kosta, explaining their back story, their wild ride. "It's kind of like pro athletes making their jobs look easy. What people don't see are the years of preparation, holding multiple jobs, hitting the streets constantly and near-failing numerous times."

Kosta, 39, and Browne, 43, offer keen insight into the Russian River Valley as an appellation revered for pinot noir. It was, after all, the pinot from this region that bewitched them back in 1997, the impetus behind their decision to build their own brand.

Today, their Kosta Browne pinot noir label rivals cult cabs in popularity, with 8,000 on their waiting list and 2? years before people can hope to get on their mailing list. Their story gives us a glimpse into the making of top-notch pinot and how they tapped the potential of the Russian River Valley to do it.

Back in the late 1990s, Kosta and Browne were sommeliers at John Ash & Co. in Santa Rosa and they found themselves drinking a lot of Russian River pinot, ground-breaking labels like Rochioli, Williams Selyem and Dehlinger.

"We loved the wines being produced here and we wanted to be a part of it all," said Browne. "World-class stuff. Pinot noir was the grape because we loved the wines."

As Kosta put it: "While Carneros was very popular at the time and I included many of those on the wine list, it was the Russian River Valley in our hearts. The complexity, depth and uniqueness were and are very attractive."

And so it began, this unlikely startup with an offbeat plan for raising funds. In 1997 Kosta and Browne decided to pool their tips, socking away $20 a night in an envelope. With then-chef Jeffrey Madura pitching in later, they raised $1,300 by harvest, enough money to buy and crush some fruit, a half-ton of pinot noir from Eastside Road.

Fast-forward 14 years and today Kosta Browne is a multi-million dollar enterprise that continues to reel in impressive ratings. In 2009, it sold a controlling interest to Vincraft, a Sonoma-based investment firm, for close to $40 million. An overnight success?

"It did seem like it took a long time, mainly in making money from the business," Browne said. "But without the addition of Chris Costello as a managing partner in 2001 we would not be where we are today. He and his dad were a main part of raising the capital needed for the business and Chris also put a strong structure around the business."

Browne added, "It was a lot of hard years to get us to where we are now. We have not stopped working hard either. It's just different now that we have a staff."

These days Kosta, Browne and their staff continue to keep their eye on pinot, and they're still impressed with Russian River's interpretation of it.

"The way the fog cools the region is the main influence," Browne said. "Things just grow well here, especially pinot noir."

There are other esteemed places where pinot thrives — the Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley and the Carneros, to name a few. Yet all vintners have their personal preferences, including Merry Edwards, who's sold on the Russian River Valley.

"I firmly believe this is the chosen place to produce pinot noir," she said. "There is no other growing region in the world where the diurnal (daily cycle) variation is so dramatic."

Edwards said large temperature swings of 40-50 degrees from day to night give the wine complexity, depth, a good tannin structure and a silky mouth-feel.

The Russian River Valley is 55 minutes north of San Francisco in the heart of Sonoma County, and it became an appellation in 1983. Most of the year, the region is quiet, a place of relative serenity where people come to canoe down the Russian River, take in the stylish town of Healdsburg or sip through the valley.

But every spring, the two-weekend Wine Road Barrel Tasting event generates buzz. The event, which highlights the Russian River Valley along with Dry Creek and Alexander valleys, reels in a younger crowd, and the party mentality of some has raised hackles among older, more traditional wine lovers. The hoopla of this wine event never affects Kosta Browne, which only offers tasting by appointment.

"We just don't have enough wine to offer at a tasting room," Kosta said. "One of the most difficult things for me personally is telling people that we can't offer them wine. While we appreciate the situation we are in as a business, there is something inherently uncomfortable about denying people what they want, especially when you want to share it with them."

Kosta Browne's Russian River wines can be found at various area restaurants, including Cyrus, Dry Creek Kitchen, Farmhouse, John Ash, Willi's Wine Bar and Zazu.

You can reach Staff Writer Peg Melnik at 521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.