Convene Wine by Dan Kosta in Healdsburg, Sonoma County

Convene by Dan Kosta is a new venture born from the passion and legacy of Dan Kosta, co-founder of Kosta Browne Winery. Since 2006, Dan has collaborated with talented winemaker Shane Finley, crafting wines that have become synonymous with elegance and complexity.

Now, with Convene, Dan aims to bring people together through the shared experience of exceptional wine. Open to the public with a stunning tasting room at Bacchus Landing in Healdsburg, Convene offers its upscale wines in a casual setting designed for connection, conversation, and wine exploration. We interview Dan to learn more.

What type of wine do you specialize in?

Convene Founder Dan Kosta: We focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from cool-climate regions. Our current offerings comprise the Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, and Santa Lucia Highlands AVAs.

What makes your wine unique?  

Dan Kosta: As I get older, wiser, and more in touch with my palate, I gravitate toward nuance and elegance. We tend to source our fruit from the cooler climates in their respective AVA’s, looking for tension, unique fruit, and acidity. We use oak very judiciously, as I believe that oak barrels should be the frame around the wine, and not interfere with the “painting”. 

Share a popular tasting experience.

Dan Kosta: Our tasting room is located within beautiful Bacchus Landing in Healdsburg, less than a mile down Westside Road from the downtown plaza. We offer a “Classically Convene” flight that features Rosé of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. The tasting encourages side-by-side comparisons of different vintages and includes a signature snack, which changes seasonally.

We are open to the public, and reservations are optional. We often host special events, including a quarterly “Happy Hour with Dan,” where I share my personal stories behind the wines.  

What’s one thing you wish more people knew about your winery?  

Dan Kosta: The winemaking collaboration between Shane Finley and I has been decades in the making. We started working together in 2006, during the early days of Kosta Browne, and have partnered on every vintage since. We share philosophies about what we want our wines to be and enjoy deep mutual respect for one another. Often, we are asked what we think makes a wine great, and my response is that it is hundreds of things coming together in a confluence (hence the name “Convene”).

Our winemaking is highly intentional, and with our experience, we have learned to slow down and appreciate the details that produce a more nuanced and complex end result in the wines.

How did you get started in the wine industry?

Dan Kosta: I have been involved with wine since a very young age. I was around 5 years old when my father began to share the wine experience with me. Small tastes of wine accompanied by questions, answers, and comments made me appreciate the culture of wine and all that goes with it. Having worked in exclusive restaurants throughout high school and college, I continued to work with wine, leading to Michael Browne and I making our first vintage of Pinot Noir in 1997.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in the winemaking process?  

Dan Kosta: Patience. This can be applied to many aspects of our business, including being very deliberate in vineyard selection, barrel programs, wine aging, and ultimately sharing the wine. Working with Mother Nature, every vintage teaches us something new, and we have learned that some things are beyond our control. After being impacted by wildfires in 2020, we decided to skip the vintage and not produce Pinot Noir. Although it was painful from a business standpoint, quality is something that we never compromise. For that reason, even a hard decision was made easily. 

Do you remember the first time you fell in love with wine?  

Dan Kosta: I knew that I wanted wine to be a part of my career as soon as I witnessed the winemaking process. The not-so-pretty aspect of production intrigued me, as well as the hard work and journey of each vintage. 

Describe your winemaking approach.  

Dan Kosta: The vineyards are the most important part of our wines. We choose cool-climate vineyards. We use oak as a component but want the vineyard to shine, so we employ light to medium toast on our barrels, avoiding heavy toast that can take over the delicate nature of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I like crisp acidity in our whites without sacrificing complexity. Our Pinot Noirs are decidedly New World in profile, focusing on restraint and stewardship that limits the winemaker’s influence.

Do you have a favorite story about working at your winery? 

Dan Kosta: Part of Convene’s ethos is the confluence of people and wine. So, the team’s ongoing growth and the reuniting of long-time associates have been the best ongoing stories. I remember looking around the table at one of our first company Christmas parties and realizing that, despite being a relatively new brand, we all had decades of history with wine and one another. I believe a lot has, and will come from that.