Rajat Parr, Partner
Born in Calcutta before being introduced to wine in London, Raj Parr is today one of America's most influential sommeliers. He began his career in wine as an apprentice to Master Sommelier Larry Stone at Rubicon. At the 5th Floor in San Francisco Raj created a wine list that within 2 years received a Grand Award from the Wine Spectator.
In 2003, Parr was named wine director for the Mina Group where he is responisble for developing and managing wine programs for multiple award winning restaurants including: Michael Mina (Bellagio, Las Vegas), Michael Mina (Westin St. Francis, San Francisco), Arcadia (Marriot, San Francisco), Nobill (MGM Grand, Las Vegas), Seablue (MGM Grand, Las Vegas), Stonehill Tavern (St. Regis Resort, Monarch Beach), Stripsteak (Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas), Nemi (Las Alcobas, Mexico City), as well as new restaurants at the MGM in Detroit.
Michael Mina's signature restaurant was the first restaurant to receive the Wine Spectator Grand Award in less than a year after opening. While Raj is fully engaged in his role for the Mina Group and his own wine project, Parr Selections, he has joined Elixir as a consulting partner.
Boris Guillome, Partner
A native of France, Boris Guillome grew up in the Loire Valley where great food and wine are easily found and often associated with the local lifestyle. This rich environment, paired with extensive travel around the world, led him to his lifelong passion of exploring wine and its diversity.
After attending Whitworth College in Spokane, WA, Boris permanently relocated to the West Coast in 1998. Having successfully passed the Wine & Spirit Education Trust's Highest Certificate and having worked for Luna Restaurant, a recipient of the Award of Excellence, Boris quickly earned his first management opportunity in the wine business. He created and managed his own wine program for Rocket Market, a local specialty food store, while hosting weekly wine classes and seminars.
Boris has now spent the past ten years working in the wine industry and has held prestigious positions as Wine Director for the Wine Spectator Grand Award's, Restaurant 301 at the Carter House, and as Senior Wine Buyer for the luxury brand Dean & Deluca, leading both wine programs to unprecedented heights. Prior to joining Elixir Fund, Boris worked as the Director of Wine Acquisitions for Vintrust, where his daily interactions with private collectors and auction houses reinforced his belief that blue chip wines should be viewed as a remarkable liquid asset. Boris currently resides in Napa Valley where he enjoys privileged relationships with many key players of the wine industry.
Rob Landsness, Partner
Rob Landsness began his foray into the wine industry at an early age, organizing educational tours at Robert Mondavi winery in Oakville as a high school student. Following undergraduate studies at New York University Rob began as an auction specialist for Morrell and Company in Manhattan. Returning to California in the fall of 2003 he engaged in cellar, lab and vineyard work for pinot noir guru Ted Lemon at Littorai winery. Restaurant experience followed, including a sommelier work at Aqua, the 5th Floor and most recently Tartare restaurant in the role of Maitre D'.
As Wine Director for Vintrust for nearly two years Rob engaged in high-end wine management services and the procurement and sale of blue chip wines to hundreds of collector clients worldwide. The management and building of these collections ranged in scale from a few thousand dollars to multi-million dollar investments with locations spanning the globe.
Rob's formal wine education includes First and Second Certificate examinations with the International Wine Center and Institute of Masters of Wine Program as well as the first level Master Sommelier exam. After studying art history abroad in Paris and Florence he graduated on New York University's Dean's List for academic achievement with a B.A. in Journalism and French language. Rob is a wine educator at 1st Class Cooking School based in San Francisco.