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Local Event Premier Host
Cost: $49.00
We are thrilled to welcome Rajat “Raj” Parr to The Wine House for the launch of his new book, The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste, A Field Guide to the Great Wines of Europe. Raj has an uncanny knack for identifying vineyards, producers, and vintages by taste alone, which has served him well as a sommelier, wine director and winemaker. Raj makes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines with little or no manipulation of the final product, no inoculation and no over-ripening for an exquisitely balanced result. He and his partner, Sashi Moorman, use purchased grapes in their Sandhi label, while the Domaine de la Côte, and Evening Land wines use grapes from their biodynamic and organic vineyards. Taste six wines with Raj as he discusses the impact of terroir and technique. The price includes a signed copy of the book! (Value $40)
ABOUT RAJAT PARR
Partner/Proprietor, Sandhi
Partner/Proprietor, Domaine de la Côte
Partner/Proprietor, Evening Land Vineyards
Born in Calcutta, Rajat credits his uncle in London for first introducing him to great wines. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Administration, Rajat entered the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, New York. He began his wine career as an apprentice to one of the industry’s most acclaimed master sommeliers, Larry Stone at Rubicon in San Francisco. There, he worked closely with Larry to gain extensive knowledge of great wines from around the world and developed affection for the wines of Burgundy. Rajat continued on and brought his expertise to the award-winning Fifth Floor before being named wine director for The Mina Group. During these years, Rajat traveled extensively around the world, visited the best vineyard sites and met many of the great winemakers of our time. This began the cultivation of Rajat’s deep understanding and appreciation of the distinctness of terroir and the vital but delicate role of winemaker. Rajat mastered the art of recognizing the impressions these elements imprinted upon wines and quickly became known for his ability to identify vineyards, producers, and vintages by taste alone. As he honed these skills, Rajat’s interest shifted further towards winemaking. In 2011, Rajat launched Sandhi, a partnership with Charles Banks and Sashi Moorman, to produce Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from select vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills. In 2013, he released wines from his new estate vineyard, Domaine de la Côte, located on the westernmost edge of the Sta. Rita Hills. Most recently, in early 2014, Rajat took over the historic and acclaimed Seven Springs Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills of Oregon.
Though food was Rajat Parr’s first love, wine became his great passion. Fortunately, Rajat has encountered the best of both worlds through his work as wine director for the Mina Group’s restaurants and as partner in RN74 (San Francisco and Seattle).
Rajat is one of the James Beard award-winning authors of the book Secrets of the Sommeliers: How to Think and Drink Like the World’s Top Wine Professionals. Rajat’s profound knowledge of wines, enduring relationships with producers and renowned tasting abilities have made him a legend in the industry. Rajat is an ardent wine educator who has led seminars and panel discussions at several of the United States’ most prestigious food and wine gatherings. He enjoys creating and hosting wine dinners so he can share his love of wine with others.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste, A Field Guide to the Great Wines of Europe is the first definitive reference book to describe, region-by-region, how the great wines of Europe should taste. This will be the go-to guide for aspiring sommeliers, wine aficionados who want to improve their blind tasting skills, and amateur enthusiasts looking for a straightforward and visceral way to understand and describe wine.
In this seminal addition to the wine canon, noted experts Rajat Parr and Jordan Mackay share everything they’ve learned in their decades of tasting wine. The result is the most in-depth study of the world’s greatest wine regions ever published. There are books that describe the geography of wine regions. And there are books that describe the way basic wines and grapes should taste. But there are no books that describe the intricacies of the way wines from various subregions, soils, and appellations should taste. Now, for the first time ever, you can learn about the differences between wines from the 7 grand crus and 40 premier crus of Chablis, or the terroirs in Barolo, Champagne, and Bordeaux. Paying attention to styles, winemakers, soils, and the most cutting-edge of trends, this book explains how to understand the wines of the world not in the classical way, but in the modern way–appellation by appellation, soil by soil, technique by technique–making it an essential reference and instant classic.
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