Ketcham Estate

Unlike so many "great" ideas that come about when fueled by alcohol, the idea to start a winery was not one Mark Ketcham and Steve Rigisich regretted the next day. It involved no high speed chases, sobriety tests, nor did we even get arrested, so we figured we were off to a helluva good start.

Truth be told, it was several years and many cases of wine later that Mark and Steve decided that they would throw in together and take the Pinot Noir grapes from Mark's vineyard in Healdsburg and start a winery. Since we weren't smart enough to come up with a clever name for our winery like, 'Tulips on the Trouser', 'Hair of the Frog', or the like, we settled on Ketcham Estate. Clever, eh?

Naming conventions aside, we are dead serious about our passion for Pinot Noir and doing whatever it takes to make the very finest Pinot we can, whether it be a 'No-Expense-Spared' approach in the vineyard, or the 'Hand that makes the Wine', we've done it, and will continue to do it. Just don't tell our CPA. He gets pissed.

In terms of the 'Hand that makes the Wine', we are thrilled to have Michael Browne (KostaBrowne.com) join us and make our wine. For those of you who are perhaps not familiar with Michael's success as a Rock Star Pinot maker these days, just read what Wine Spectator has written about him the last several years, virtually anointing him, 'The Prince of Pinot'. If you don't believe us, go on-line and read Wine Spectators' rave reviews. How we convinced him to make our wine, we'll never know, but we're sure glad we did.

Mark Ketcham
California born (Palo Alto) and raised. He retired from his computer company some years ago. In retirement, he started collecting and racing vintage Ferraris and what was a hobby turned into a small business to support his racing habit here and abroad (Ketcham Imports ). If collecting Ferraris wasn't a big enough financial sink hole, he also started collecting Grand Cru Bordeauxs. The wine jones had started.

But as with most evolutionary wine drinking, one starts with white wines, then bridges to reds. Can you say Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Syrah, with a sprinkling of great Sauternes (for foie gras indulgences)? But ultimately all roads lead to Pinot Noir; unquestionably the most difficult grape varietal to grow (thin skins and very weather sensitive) and very difficult to make well. Making great Pinot Noir is about as easy as getting Susan Sarandon to swan over George Bush. But, when the alchemy all comes together, Pinot Noir is truly ethereal.

So Mark bought sixteen acres in Healdsburg in the heart of the Russian River appellation and he was off to the races (Ketcham Vineyards website is under construction).

Steve Rigisich
Steve was born in Northern California and is an Electrical Engineer educated at U.S.C. But at his core, he is a New Yorker, where he built his software company, which he later sold and shortly thereafter retired. No fool is he. Then he and his wife Lisa moved back from New York to California. Missing the 'wine, family and friends' they had in New York, they started the 'Bay Area Wine Project' (Bay Area Wine Project). Steve, now "retired", thought the 'Bay Area Wine Project' and being partners in Ketcham Estate winery wasn't enough, so he and Lisa kicked off the inaugural "Pinot Days" Festival (Pinot Days: A Celebration of Pinot Noir from California and Beyond) at Fort Mason in San Francisco in June 2005, to a sold out event with over 100 Pinot Noir producers from all over the globe represented, but with the real focus being on California Pinot Noir producers. The response was overwhelming and the event sold out.

Michael Browne - Winemaker
We have known Michael for a few years and have been one of his greatest admirers of the Kosta Browne wines. When we decided to make our own wine, the first phone call made was to Michael to see if he would be our winemaker. We probably wouldn't be here discussing our wines today if he had said 'No.' as we really didn't have a second choice. Fortunately, Michael agreed and we have launched this partnership.

Michael Browne is the Winemaker for Kosta Browne. He moved to Sonoma County in 1987 from Washington State with the goal of becoming an architect. While working at local fine dining establishments to pay the bills, he fell in love with the pleasures of the local wines.

Michael started working with Deerfield Ranch Winery in 1997 as Assistant Winemaker and became Co-Winemaker with owner Robert Rex in 2000. Michael´s passion has developed into a love of Pinot Noir. "The challenges of this grape are many, the rewards are endless."