This article originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2023-2024 print issue of Quench Magazine.

Rajat Parr is one of the world’s most celebrated wine personalities. Every time he undertakes something, he is crowned with success. There is something magnetic about Parr that goes beyond his realizations. You feel his presence when he walks into a room. He is calm, grounded and naturally commands respect. It is as if he possesses the wisdom we all strive for.

Parr was born in India and left his home country at the age of 18. He moved to the United States to go to cooking school and become a chef. However, meeting Larry Stone MS turned out to be pivotal. After six months of working as a food runner at Rubicon Restaurant in San Francisco, Parr became Stone’s assistant. The latter became a father figure to Parr, the one who taught him everything about hospitality and blind tasting. Wine became Parr’s career.

From meeting Larry Stone to quickly being in charge of the wine program at Rubicon, the list of achievements that followed is nothing short of impressive. Sommelier/wine director at Fifth Floor for 4 years, at Michael Mina for 18 years, at RN74 for 7 years. Parr then started many exciting wine projects which are still ongoing: Sandhi from 2009, Domaine de la Côte from 2011, Evening Land from 2014 and Phelan Farm from 2020. Not to mention the two globally acclaimed books he co-wrote with Jordan Mackay – Secrets of the Sommeliers released in 2010 and The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste: A Field Guide to the Great Wines of Europe released in 2018.

We asked Parr how he explains his ongoing success.

RESILIENCE

“I started from nothing [no education]. I left my house when I was 17 or 18 years old. When you live alone and you travel alone, you have to make it alone. There’s no backup plan. You must succeed just to make it to the next day. I remember sleeping on a bus stand or sleeping in Grand Central Station many times because I missed my train, or I was waiting for the morning train to go to a tasting in the city. You’re young and resilient and you keep moving.”

CONSISTENCY

“I think one thing in today’s world which is not prevalent, is consistency. I wanted to completely master what I knew to the best of my ability and to do it at the highest level and be present for it. I remember when I worked at RN74, I was there seven days a week. I lived above the restaurant because I wanted to give my 100%. I think that is just an old school mentality and what I learned from Larry Stone and my mentors. I don’t see many people doing that now.”

From the outside, it looks like a path blessed with success and little failure. But another key to Parr’s numerous accomplishments is making mistakes. They are his biggest learning curves. “The biggest mistake I made was taking things for granted,” says Parr. “Mother nature and in some cases business partners. I assumed that a partnership was a partnership, but it is not always the case because sometimes people take advantage of things.” He adds, “Fifty or a hundred years ago humans were sustainable. Everyone had a garden, and you would take care of yourself. Now we rely on grocery stores and Amazon. That is the biggest realization. Every day when I wake up, I learn how I can self-sustain and encourage to self-sustain.”

His strength and attitude also play a major role in his journey. Equality and diversity are sine qua non to today’s era. However, this was not the case when Parr started his career. “When you are a young minority [and I had a thicker accent back then], there are people judging you. But I never thought about it. There were many times when people were racists. But I didn’t really worry about it and let my energy focus on the negative things. I kept working and focused on what I was doing.”

Parr is still growing and learning. In the future, you are less likely to find him travelling the world non-stop as he did in the past. The pandemic changed many things. “It [the pandemic] showed me how humans polluted the planet. I asked myself what I could do in a small way to help the world. The most obvious idea for me was to move to one place and learn about regenerative farming and a more holistic way to soil management. Wine is a platform. If I was growing potatoes or vegetables, no-one would really care. But we produce luxury products so people might listen to the wine world. We need to talk about that we only have 3% of our topsoil left.”

Another important part of Parr’s DNA is curiosity, which leads him to forge his own path rather than follow what everybody else is doing. Currently, he is devoted to cultivating the land without the use of copper or sulfur. Not an easy task as fungal diseases are prevalent in Cambria, California where Phelan Farm is located. “Preventative agriculture is the type of farming I am interested in. I want to make the plants healthier, stronger, and resistant. I want to make the soil stronger. I want to inject more fungal material; I want more biomass. I want to make the soil rich with organic matter. It’s about making a healthy ecosystem.” So far, he is succeeding. He mentions Dr. Elaine Ingham, recognized as the foremost soil biologist in the world, as a source of knowledge and some of his peers such as Jason Jardine of Hanzell and Morgan Twain-Peterson MW of Bedrock Wine Co. with whom he exchanges ideas to achieve his goal. “I want to continue refining the farming we do. Study more about science and how to get from point A to point B in soil and plant health.”

Eventually Parr wants to write a guide to help young people who want to practise the same type of farming. His wish is to make things easier for them. “When I started [this kind of farming], there was no template for me.”

Speaking of the younger generations, Parr is very optimistic about the future. “They worry about organic viticulture, where things come from. I think the old style of farming needs to phase away and we need to bring in the younger generation who really cares about the soil, the plants and the wines. It’s very important to come together, connect and share knowledge. We need to have a common platform so everyone can share ideas. The world is so uncertain and working together is the only way we will succeed and do the right thing for the planet.”

Rajat Parr continues to be a mentor for many. He offers these words of wisdom: “If you’re smart, you are going to be successful. And when you get successful, then just remember where you came from. Stay humble and curious. I think that the biggest mistake humans make is that they let their ego take over themselves and think of themselves as bigger than they really are.”

Rajat has a beautiful quote from Mahatma Gandhi in his email signature, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

Thanks M. Parr.

Feature image courtesy of Rajat Parr.