Blogs
January 20, 2007
Are We Still the "New Guys?"
We are right in the middle of our bottling season at the winery. Michael and the crew have the 2005 Russian River and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs under cork and the 2006 Rose under screw cap (I love the packaging!). Next week, they will bottle the single vineyard Pinot Noirs. As I was cruising through the winery today, I had butterflies in my stomach, just as I always do this time of year. Preparing for a release is like preparing for your baby to come. What's it going to look like? How will it age? Will it be liked? It's a very exciting time. But then I thought, "this is our 9th kid!!" Not many people know that Michael and have been doing this for 10 years now. I suppose our official 10 year anniversary won't be until the 2009 vintage since 1999 was the first year we actually sold wine. But wow! 10 years of our partnership in wine. This is not a new project anymore!
The thing is, we think all of our vintages are better than the last. Each vintage brings new challenges, discoveries and new rewards. Even though we have been at it for a while, it still seems so fresh. That's the beautiful thing about winemaking. New vintage, new start. We feel lucky to be part of it. So now we have our 2005 Appellation Pinot Noirs in the bottle, waiting to be released in a couple of months. Another one for the cellar. We actually have a 6 vintage vertical!! So are we still the New Guys?
When I first tasted your
When I first tasted your Pinot Noir ('03 vintage) I thought it was the best American Pinot Noir I tasted that year. I didn't think you were acting like new guys then. I am guessing this year will not be any different. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to this years allocation.
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New Guys
I am Canadian and I have just recently registered for your mailing list. After reading the Winespectator article on California Pinot, I must say that I am quite excited about your wines. I am a great fan of Burgundy wines and looking forward to savoring some of your single vineyard offerings. A vertical tasting of your Pinot's would certainly be a blockbuster sellout.
Looking forward to learning more about Kosta Browne.
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Verticals of KB
Bernard:
Thanks for your comments. We are finally acquiring a bit of track record with our wines, and we are having fun with it. Vertical tastings are popping up nowadays. Check out somes notes on one of my previous blogs about cellared KB wines (How Are YOUR Kosta Brownes Tasting?") I love the ongoing experiment!
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my wish
I have learned of your great effort in making great Pinot. My wish is able to buy some to share your effort.
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Congratulations on your 10/8
Congratulations on your 10/8 year anniversary. It's understandable that you are nervous, seeing that the '04 vintage was a raging success. I'm excited to see what you guys have in store for the 05 vintage (and im sure the rest of the wine world would agree). I wouldn't say you are the new guys. Here's my logic: 1 year in wine biz = 7 normal years => 10 years in the game x 7 = 70 YEARS! Now that's a long time. You guys have definitely graduated from "the new guys" characterization.
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2004 Sonoma Coast
Shared a bottle of this fantastic wine to a friend who has never tasted your wine. He said it was the best Pinot Noir he had ever tasted. This I already know being a loyal member for the the last three years. Had the pleasure of meeting Michael when my girlfriend and I visited the winery in Sebastopol in 2004. We we're hooked on the spot. Also visited December of 2005 and met Dan for the first time. We spent over 2 hours tasting from the barrels by ourselves. It was an afternoon we will not forget and we speak about it often with friends and family. Thanks to Michael and Dan for the time,passion, and education they passed to us. Can't wait for the Spring releases.