Photo courtesy of Phelan Farm

The Ganevat and Labet of California
Phelan Farm Autrement

Autrement from Phelan Farm by Rajat Parr is one of the most unique wines in California today that evokes the red blends of the Jura. For many wine lovers that know the Jura wines well the comparisons to Ganevat and Labet come quick and poignant.  .

Rajat Parr’s journey in the world of food and wine is a fascinating one that has begun a new chapter. Rajat’s resume is stunning. A world class sommelier who garnered numerous Wine Spectator Grand Awards for the restaurants he oversaw. A renowned wine personality, author and speaker, Rajat has been one of the key personalities at events such as La Paulee, Pebble Beach Food & Wine, Aspen Food & Wine and more. As a winemaker, Rajat has been producing wine under his own name for decades and rose to winemaking prominence with his partnership with Sashi Moorman in Sandhi and Domaine de la Cote.

Today, Rajat adds several new winemaking and vineyard management projects to his already busy schedule. Moving north from Santa Rita Hills, Rajat has settled into the remote part of Cambria where he is personally farming an 11 acre vineyard named Phelan Farm. 

Phelan Farms is nestled in the sloped and forested hillsides of Cambria along the Steiner Creek only a few miles from the Pacific Ocean in San Luis Obispo. With a long term lease in place, Phelan Farm has become home to Rajat and is where he spends the most of his time, farming the 11 acres by hand with a trusted few. Here farming is Rajat’s way, not subscribing to one singular school of farming practices. In his own way Rajat is developing a minimalistic, organic/biodynamic approach to farming. The best way to sum up the approach is a combination of biodynamics, regenerative farming and permaculture. It is simply put adaptive natural farming for the Phelan Farm. Sheep, dogs and chickens roam the property as workers, fertilizers and security. No tilling or plowing has been done since 2007 on the vineyards and the heaviest piece of equipment used in the vineyards in a 4-wheeler. 

The wines are made with as little intervention as possible, relying on natural yeast fermentations. The wines are raised in stainless steel and older oak barrels. Neither the wines or vineyards are treated with sulfur, and all wines are bottled by hand without any fining or filtration.

The 2021 Autrement is a wine inspired by the numerous blends that Rajat has enjoyed over the years from the Jura, Savoie and Loire. Here the blend is less of the grape type but rather how the grapes transmit the terroir of Phelan Farm and meld together as one. Autrement was the first wine of the range to sell out as passion followers quickly sought the wine out, but more importantly they reordered due to the immediate joy the wine provided. A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to secure several more cases of the 2021 Autrement that continues to deliver an incredible impact and joyful glass of wine.

Cheers,
Jeremy