Brij carries the name of Rajat Parr's father, and it is the label under which the celebrated sommelier turned winemaker buys fruit from growers he trusts rather than from his own land.
Backstory
Parr built his reputation as a sommelier and winemaker, most notably at Sandhi and Domaine de la Cote on California's Central Coast. The pandemic pushed him toward farming, and he took on Phelan Farm, a 4.7-hectare vineyard in Cambria where he now describes himself as a farmer. Brij runs alongside that project as his negociant operation, sourcing grapes from friends and neighbors.
The Region
Brij draws on vineyards across California's Central Coast, including Santa Barbara County and the San Luis Obispo Coast. Parr works with bush vines planted on limestone and granite, some dating back to 1912 and 1923, and shares fruit from old Cucamonga-area plantings near Los Angeles with fellow winemaker Abe Schoener.
Vineyards & Farming
The grapes for Brij come from growers who farm organically. In the cellar Parr applies the same philosophy he uses at Phelan Farm: careful, thoughtful, and hands-off whenever possible. The aim, in his words, is clarity and energy rather than weight or excess.
Winemaking
Brij wines lean on whole-cluster fermentation and aging in foudre and neutral barrels. Parr keeps additions to a minimum, adding only around 2 parts per million of sulfites at bottling for the negociant wines. The result is precise, honest, easy-drinking wine meant to express where it was grown.
The Wines
The range includes Chardonnay from the SLO Coast, a fresh Albarino, and reds built on Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, and heritage Zinfandel. The Oso Rouge, a Grenache and Mourvedre blend from Rancho Arroyo Grande, is fermented with whole clusters in wooden casks and aged in neutral barrels.
