On the far edge of Cambria, where the Pacific wind cuts through the vineyard and California stops pretending to be obvious, Raj Parr is building something quieter, sharper, and far more interesting.
Phelan Farm is a farm-first project. The vines sit close to the ocean, rooted in fractured shale, calcareous clay, and ancient marine-influenced ground. No irrigation. No chemicals. Regenerative farming, sheep in the vineyard, cover crops, native yeasts, neutral vessels, no fining, no filtration. Nothing polished for theatre. Everything pushed toward energy, texture, and place.
For Wine Trade International, Raj Parr sits exactly where we like things: high credibility, low predictability. A legendary sommelier turned farmer, Parr helped reshape the conversation around American Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. At Phelan Farm, the mood is more radical: coastal Chardonnay, tense Pinot Noir, and alpine-leaning blends that make a wine list wake up without shouting.
Who is Raj Parr?
Raj Parr is one of the most influential wine professionals of his generation. Sommelier, author, winemaker and now farmer, his career has moved from the dining rooms of San Francisco to some of the most closely watched vineyards on the American West Coast.
Parr built his reputation under legendary sommelier Larry Stone at Rubicon before taking over the wine programme at Fifth Floor and later becoming Wine Director for the Michael Mina group, eventually overseeing wine programmes across more than 20 restaurants in the United States. His work earned repeated recognition from the James Beard Foundation, while Secrets of the Sommeliers, co-written with Jordan Mackay, won the 2011 James Beard Award for Beverage.
Then he moved from selecting great wine to making it. Through projects including Sandhi, Domaine de la Côte and Evening Land, Parr became an important figure in the movement that pushed California wine towards greater freshness, restraint and expression of place. The San Francisco Chronicle has described him as one of California’s most influential sommelier-turned-winemakers.
Today, his focus is Phelan Farm in Cambria, on California’s San Luis Obispo Coast, where regenerative farming, minimal-intervention winemaking and an unusually diverse collection of grape varieties have become the next chapter of his work.
Raj Parr’s international reputation comes from something broader than scores or individual bottles. For more than three decades he has helped shape how serious wine is selected, discussed, grown and made. His influence stretches across restaurants, vineyards, books and wine education, earning him a following among sommeliers, growers, collectors and wine professionals around the world.
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