RAJAT PARR the Minimalist Winemaker

Mira Advani Honeycutt visits Rajat Parr in Cambria to get an insight into his unique take on winemaking

Harvest 2025 was coming to an end when I visited Rajat Parr at his Parr Collective Vineyard & Winery in Cambria located in the northern end of San Luis Obispo Coast AVA, along California’s Central Coast. As I watched a half-ton bin of Savagnin Jaune was tipped into the press on the crush pad while the sommelier turned- winemaker supervised a small crew of three others. After pressing, the juice is headed straight into barrel where it will naturally ferment with native yeast and age.

“Nothing is added in our wines,” he declared.

This, in a nutshell, is Parr’s signature — minimal intervention and a natural winemaking approach. The practice runs through his portfolio of four brands: Phelan Farm-Wines of the Pacific, Stolo, Brij and Scythian Wine Co, all produced at Parr Collective Winery in Cambria (formerly known as Stolo Vineyards & Winery). As we walked around the crush pad peeking into other bins, Parr related that 2025 was extremely cool along the Central Coast. “A very cool, long, beautiful summer,” is how he put it, which will give the wines high acidities and moderate alcohol. “Really fresh and vibrant and crunchy wines.” A hallmark of Parr’s collection of wines.

There’s no pretense in Parr’s craftsmanship — his wines strive for purity and honesty. Phelan Farm wines, for instance, surprise you with obscure varieties such as Mondeuse, Poulsard, Altese, Trousseau and Pink Chardonnay, all planted at Parr’s Phelan Farm vineyards.

Then there are two brands produced with sourced grapes. The popular Brij brand is a workhorse, producing 1000 cases each of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Brij also includes small lots of unusual varieties like Assyrtiko, Gruner Veltiliner plus the popular Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre — all sourced from organic vineyards along the Central Coast.

The Scythian Wine collection is dedicated to historic vineyards in Cucamonga (east of Los Angeles) from where Parr sources ancient Zinfandel, Mission and Palomino varieties. He also continues the Stolo tradition of a small production of estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Stolo vineyards. Another label focused on Italian varieties is in the works for next year. “They’re trendy now because a lot of different wine growers are looking for those varieties,” Parr explained. “I try to make wines that I enjoy and are thought-provoking and interesting.” Has Pinot Noir, his first love, taken a back seat? No, he said, he’s still producing it along with its Burgundian cousin Chardonnay. “But also, other wines,” he insisted.

Is there a lot of Pinot being made these days? “Yeah, a hundred percent, because if you make Pinot it has to be with intent in the right place, in the right way.” There’s a lot of mediocre, uninteresting Pinot made in the whole world, he added. “So we try to focus and make small amounts of wines that are interesting and compelling. [They] give you a look into what really the place is, not just a Pinot Noir from anywhere.” The total annual production across all four brands is 4,000 cases.

Parr grew up in Kolkata and moved to the UK at age 20 where he got his introduction to wine. “I had never had wine before. And I was like, wow, this is made from grapes? As a kid you eat grapes and you don’t think about it.”

That epiphany came by way of his first sip of Bordeaux. For a winemaker known for his passion for Pinot Noir and obscure varieties, Parr still has great admiration for Cabernet Sauvignon. “In my top 10 list of the greatest wines I ever had, probably half will be Cabernet,” he declared. Indeed, he is now in the ‘Cab business.’

“People come into the tasting room asking for Cab,” Parr admitted. So he wants to make the walk-ins happy. He took me over to one of the bins where Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were fermenting. Sourced from Paso Robles AVA, the small production will be sold at the tasting room. “We are making this exactly the 44 Sommelier INDIA JANJUARY-MARCH 2026 same way we do other wines with closed top fermenters. It will be made like Pinot.”

Parr originally thought he wanted to be a chef so he moved to New York to study at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Hyde Park. “While I was there I fell in love with wine.” He later moved on to San Francisco and worked with celebrity sommelier Larry Stone. “I worked as a sommelier for 18 years.” In between he dabbled in winemaking and worked the harvest with two now-deceased Pinot luminaries — Josh Jensen (Calera) and Jim Clendenen (Au Bon Climat). “They were old school and taught me well.”

Over the years he has picked up three James Beard Awards, curated four Wine Spectator Grand Award wine lists, co-authored the book, “Secrets of the Sommeliers,” and mentored countless young aspiring Somms and winemakers.

Eventually, his passion for Pinot Noir led him to winemaking when he launched his Parr label in 2004, sourcing fruit and producing wines at local wineries in Santa Barbara County. In 2011, he partnered with local winemaker Sashi Moorman to launch Sandhi wines in Sta. Rita Hills AVA, renowned for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Domaine de la Côte label was added to their portfolio in 2013. (Parr has in recent years sold his interest in both).

Parr’s association with the tiny village of Cambria (north of Santa Barbara County) began when he came upon the Phelan Farm vineyard in a remote hillside, a mere three miles from the Pacific Ocean. A consummate purist, Parr was drawn to an isolated 11.5- acre vineyard planted in 2007 to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which is part of the 1,100- acre ranch homesteaded by the Phelan family in 1851. He offered to lease the vineyard with a vision to preserve the integrity of this storied ranch and create a healthy eco-system following his regenerative farming practices.

Parr retained some of the original Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines at Phelan Farm and decided to graft other vines over to cool climate varieties to take advantage of coastal Cambria’s marine-influenced climate. In 2017 and 2018, he began grafting a selection of some 15 varieties native to France’s Savoie and Jura regions, varieties ranging from Mondeuse, Savagnin Vert, Savganin Jaune and Poulsard to Altese, Jacquere, Trousseau and the popular Gamay.

Around the same time, he began his association with Stolo Vineyards & Winery, joining the team as its consulting winemaker in 2021, while producing his Phelan Farm wines at Stolo. Two years later he leased the property and began converting Stolo vineyards to regenerative farming while planting new vineyards. “Stolo winery is now called the Parr Collective Wines,” Parr said. All four brands are produced at this winery.

Parr is a committed naturalist. “Everything starts in the vineyard. I want to use a more holistic approach in the vineyard and embrace regenerative farming.”

In addition to using holistic preparations such as spraying raw milk to combat powdery mildew, Parr insists that nothing goes to waste on the ranch. “We feed the vegetable trimmings to the sheep and when I make almond milk I give the almond pulp to the chickens. I hate throwing it with trash.”

The minimalist approach in vinification includes using native yeast, no fining and no filtration. “Of course, in a perfect situation, which happens a lot here, there’s nothing added in the wine.” However, there are times when intervention is needed. “You have to make a judgment call if you’re going to add a small amount of sulphur, or we’ll rack this or blend that.”

As with many wineries, Parr admits that 2025 was a challenging year economically.

“We were affected by 30-40%,” he commented on the recent slump in the industry caused by many factors, from health warnings in the media to oversupply of fruit and declining sales due to competition from other beverages and cannabis. “Customers dropped off. We had less people walking in the door.”

Parr feels these are generational changes. People are drinking less due to health or economic reasons. Plus, the traffic to Cambria (and other nearby coastal towns) has been impacted by the long-time closure of nearby Highway 1 due to road conditions. However, ever the optimist, Parr is looking at the bright side.

“I’m bullish about this area, we’re the only winery in Cambria. And the SLO Coast AVA has good energy. Harvest is great and I’m excited about what’s ahead.”

Parr’s singular vision follows the European model. “We farm the vineyard, make the wine and sell the wine. When you’re fully engaged with a vineyard from fruiting to picking, you have a different connection with it.”