A Letter from Rajat
My Journey Toward Honest Wines
Why I joined The Waves, and where we plan to take it.
BY RAJAT PARR
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW SCHONEBERGER
If 25 years ago you’d asked me, “What does your future look like?” I can promise you my answer would not have been, “I’ll be growing vines on a regenerative farm in a canyon in Cambria, California, and partnering on a project that rethinks wine shopping.”
But as with everything, the journey in wine is everlasting. My own journey has taken me all over the world, from running wine programs at celebrated restaurants to tasting everything I can get my hands on, landing me here in Cambria at Phelan Farm, where I can pursue what I now care about most in wine: healthy soils, honest winemaking, and the sheep, dogs, and chickens who now help me with my vines.
In 2021, my friend Jordan Salcito introduced me to Andy Comer and Gaurav Tiwari, who had an idea she thought I’d want to hear. Andy and Gaurav were just starting to solidify their plans for The Waves. They came down to Cambria, from Seattle, for a three-day stay. During the days, I put them to work thinning shoots at the farm. In the evenings we’d have dinner and chat through ideas. It was a cohesive way for them to get a sense of why I’m doing what I’m doing—and for me to understand their vision for what The Waves could be.
I call them honest wines, because they’re made with a “light-touch” approach that allows a true expression of place and vintage. The winemakers that inspire us reject additives and interventions that too often standardize wine … and open up new dimensions of taste.
The three of us found a common thread in the wines we love: honesty. I call them honest wines, because they’re made with a “light-touch” approach that allows a true expression of place and vintage. The winemakers that inspire us reject additives and interventions that too often standardize wine … and open up new dimensions of taste. Dimensions that today’s generation of wine drinkers are embracing.
We knew we wanted to do our part to help share these wines, and the stories of the winemakers who inspire us, with more people—no matter where they live. Between myself and Billy Smith, our Chief Wine Officer, we’ve been recommending wines for over four decades. But our reach was always limited by the four walls of the restaurants we worked in. What if we could talk with more people about the wines we love by building a new kind of digital recommendation system? Maybe giving people more access, in a fun and easy way, could spark awareness of the regenerative, chemical-free farming we support—and help contribute to a better future for wine producers and wine drinkers alike. We believed this was possible if we all came together.
This is about more than the wine. It’s about who we are, who we want to become, and what our place in the world is. It’s about our future. And now is the time to act.
For me, becoming more aware of these ideas has completely changed my perspective. My palate was trained on top-level Burgundy: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In 2011, I started tasting wines from the Jura, an hour outside of Burgundy, and talking with winemakers such as Stephane Tissot, Pierre Overnoy, and Kenjiro Kagami. They also made wine from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but fundamentally challenged my understanding of these grapes and delighted my palate. I could feel the energy, the vibrations in these wines, and I started questioning what else was possible.
I was inspired enough to commit my work to regenerative farming. This is what honest wines, wines of people and places, have the power to do.
So here I am, at Phelan Farm, focused on the health of my soil, cohabiting with my dogs and sheep, and learning more every day about my vines. And it strikes me that this is about so much more than the wine. It’s about who we are, who we want to become, and what our place in the world is.
It’s about our future. And now is the time to act. This is why I joined The Waves. Our philosophy is concerned with the environmental, the social, and the personal impacts of wine. Our quest is for honesty.
Getting there will be a long and winding road, but I promise you we’ll drink some super-delicious wines along the way.
