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Wine writer + expert Elaine Chukan Brown speaks with three-time James Beard Award winner, Rajat Parr, regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on wine.

Elaine and Raj speak about Syrah in a global context. Having frequently traveled to
European wine regions and California wine country, Rajat’s close ties with top producers,
regions, and wines will bring tremendous insight to the history and current state of Syrah in
California, and how that compares with other top wine regions around the world.

Featured wines:
2018 Sandhi Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills
2017 Pax Syrah, Armagh Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
2017 Piedrassi Syrah, Rim Rock Vineyard, Arroyo Grande

A trained chef, Rajat grew up in Calcutta, India, before journeying to the United States where he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park. Rajat then traveled to San Francisco to work as a sommelier at top restaurants like Rubicon, Fifth Floor, and Michael Mina/The Mina Group. His winemaking projects including Sandhi and Domaine de la Côte in the Sta. Rita Hills with Sashi Moorman, located on the westernmost edge of the Sta. Rita Hills, and Evening Land Vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills of Oregon. He is also collaborator on the award-winning books Secrets of the Sommeliers and The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste.

Learn more about California Wines, including information about California's diverse wine making regions here: https://discovercaliforniawines.com/

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