Rajat Parr, the Calcutta born sommelier turned winemaker, talks about his journey: 'Was just trying to be more in touch with nature'

Rajat Parr isn’t well known in India but that might soon change. The Calcutta-born winemaker was recently back in the country to introduce selections from the three vineyards in which Parr is co-founder — California-based Sandhi and Domaine de la Côte and Evening Land (which is located in Oregon). “I was tired of working in a restaurant for about hundred hours a week. I thought one day I’ll do something else. And this seemed like a good place to start," says Parr on becoming a winemaker. “[I was> just trying to be more in touch with nature and more in touch with the vine and the grape,” he elaborates.

Parr, who’s dressed in a Carhartt shirt, seems at first to embody America’s workmanlike attitude, not least for his choice of clothing and his drawn-out drawl when answering questions. The dry wit though is what sets him apart and ultimately, it leads to a way of speaking that seems to underplay all of Parr’s achievements.

And the achievements, there are a lot. Whether it be being a partner in multiple vineyards, working his way up to one of the most well-regarded sommeliers in San Francisco, to steering four Wine Spectator Grand Award listed wine programmes and co-writing two books, The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste and Secrets of the Sommeliers, both with Jordan Mackay.

Parr, who’s training in hospitality started with going to Manipal for Hotel Management before continuing on to The Culinary Institute of America’s New York campus at Hyde Park, has gone from strength to strength. Moving to San Francisco, he worked under Larry Stone, the Master Sommelier and director of Rubicon, the restaurant where Parr found work.

Of Stone, Parr says, “My mentor told me many, many years ago to always be passionately curious.” This curiosity has served him well, and over the years Parr moved around in City by the Golden Gate before ultimately choosing to become a winemaker. Known for his deep knowledge of Burgundy wine, Parr credits tasting the 1986 Raveneau Les Clos with setting him on the path to learn and then make wine that draws on his knowledge.

Parr is now based in Santa Barbara, and has been experimenting with making wine since 2004. It’s only since 2011 though that he sold his first vintage. Parr reminisces, “I made Syrah first – Syrah and Chardonnay, and then in 06 was the first Pinot vintage. Yeah, it’s always been Chardonnay, Pinot and Syrah.” Typical of his understatements, Parr has to be pressed to elaborate, and even then, doesn’t enjoy speaking about his style of making wines. Instead, he is keen to answer why he chose to make the switch. Parr cites being tired of working in the restaurant industry. “I was tired of always being ‘on’ – talking to a guest, looking after guests,” he explains.

However, when introducing the wines from his vineyards that are now available in India he says that he is seeking to make wines that showcase the terroir of the region, that “pushed the boundary of ripeness and showcase a more nuanced and finessed wine.”

When it comes to Indian wines, Parr says he’s not keeping track of the market since he doesn’t visit all that often. The last time he visited was four years ago, and Parr admits, “I know very little about the local wine scene.” He says, “When I come to India, I don’t really drink wine or drink anything really,” using his trips instead to spend time with family, especially his mom, who is still in Kolkata. His trips have become more infrequent since his father passed away, as his mother now makes a yearly trip to the US to spend time with him. This year, with Parr introducing his wines to local sommeliers and the Indian wine drinking fraternity, he is making the trip back home.

Finally, for those seeking out untapped wines, Parr indicates that he thinks Spain and Portugal, “have really old ancient varieties, and interesting areas on both coasts of Spain – the northwest and the northeast,” while he calls Portugal’s wine industry still untapped. With a stamp of approval from Parr, those wines are sure to fly of shelves soon.