(PD) - Founders Dan Kosta and Michael Browne are leaving their namesake Sebastopol winery, stepping down from operations as part of a new chapter for Kosta Browne Winery.

The winery, launched 20 years ago when the pair pooled tips from their jobs at a Santa Rosa restaurant, ultimately became a pinot noir powerhouse that has garnered worldwide acclaim.

It has been under the controlling ownership of J.W. Childs Associates of Boston since January 2015. Childs acquired its stake from the Healdsburg-based The Vincraft Group, which bought its interest in 2009 for an estimated $40 million.

As part of the new changes, the winery will add a new appointment-only tasting room in the spring at its location at The Barlow center in an effort to reach wine club members and many consumers unable to get past a yearslong waiting list and sample the wine.

The company does 85 percent of its business directly to consumers; the waiting list to buy it is as long as three years.