Husbands Joey Wołosz and Jeff Durham Reimagine Napa Wine Hospitality with a Culinary Focused Salon that Evokes the Classic European Lunch Tasting
NAPA, Calif. (December 7, 2023) – Gentleman Farmer Wines, a boutique, family-owned Napa Valley winery founded by partners in business and husbands in life Joey Wołosz and Jeff Durham, is excited to announce the opening of The Bungalow: A Studio for Gustatory Well-Being. Located at 1564 First Street in Downtown Napa, the new social space for Gentleman Farmer is a reimagined 1926 California craftsman bungalow, designed and outfitted by Wołosz and Durham, and meant to recreate the intimate (and rare!) experience of dining in a winemaker’s home.
Modeled after their experiences tasting wines over multi-course, vintner-cooked lunches in Bordeaux, Gentleman Farmer will offer a similar old-world experience at “The Bungalow” in Downtown Napa. Although the wine with lunch tasting model – where the home-cooked meal is as integral to the experience as the wines – is common for those who work in the wine industry or savvy oenophiles who venture to Europe’s more remote wine regions, Gentleman Farmer introduces this concept of the tasting experience to California. In their Studio for Gustatory Well-Being, the duo plan to cook, host, and share wine, with stories of the Golden State, their history, and of the Napa Valley.
“It has long been a dream of ours to offer a lunch pairing in Napa Valley that’s as thoughtful and memorable as the experiences we’ve shared in Europe,” said Wołosz. “Jeff and I have been using family recipes to prepare lunch experiences for friends and family out of our home for years. People often say it’s the highlight of their stay in Napa Valley, so we thought – let’s take this a step further and open it up to the public? The Bungalow is a place where we will share our wines alongside great home cooked food and wonderful stories.”
Gentleman Farmer specializes in elegantly crafted, old-world inspired wines that are meant to be accompanied by thoughtfully prepared food, which is made entirely by Durham and Wołosz. Guests of The Studio for Gustatory Well-Being will enjoy intricate and 100 percent homemade six-course lunches alongside their wines. They pull from family recipes (as Durham puts it: “Nothing precious here; tweezers are rarely used!”), making everything from gougères, mustard with their Chardonnay, buttery brioche, rillettes and soufflés, to cured meats, terrines, sausages, show-stopping roasts and beautiful, from-scratch desserts. The aim is to use the pairings as a means of introduction to their wines, all while Wołosz and Durham share anecdotes, colorful stories, and detailed, down-to-earth to wine knowledge.
With reservations offered by appointment, Wołosz and Durham will also offer paired three-course breakfast and a six-course dinner in addition to their flagship six-course lunch experience.
Fitness and wellness enthusiast will especially appreciate the “The Breakfast of Champions” experience, which includes a 5K early morning run along the Napa Riverfront and through Downtown Napa (guided by Durham) or a morning meditation in The Bungalow (guided by Wołosz) – all before breakfast.
The couple will open The Bungalow to the public for ticketed events beyond paired tastings, starting in January 2024. A vibrant addition to the nightlife on First Street, their monthly “Salon Soirées” will feature live music, burlesque performances, adult magic shows, guest speakers and other special events that speak to the inclusive, artisanal Gentleman Farmer ethos.
The decision to expand was made after Durham and Wolosz noticed the frequency with which their wine club members were booking repeat trips to Napa Valley and also sending their friends expressly to experience their thoughtfully prepared lunches, high quality wines, and above-and-beyond hospitality. Realizing no one else was doing anything quite like it, The Bungalow was a natural next step.
Just as Wołosz’ and Durham’s beautifully designed home in Yountville reflects their unique personalities and family histories, The Bungalow is an extension of that aesthetic. Continuing to use the California poppy as their muse, the design themes throughout the space reflect their home state’s signature topography: sand, fog, and forest. Sandy hues represent coastal Southern California; foggy grays symbolize California’s Central Coast up to Fort Ross; and forest highlights the lush greens of Northern California.
Both Wołosz and Durham hold degrees in Hotel & Restaurant Management and share a wealth of experience working in food, wine, travel, and hotels. In 2008, the duo founded The Redwood Riverwalk, a stylish boutique Humboldt County motel destination in the charming town of Fortuna. They imbued The Redwood with a vibrant personality that matched their aesthetic, with evocative artwork, unexpected design elements, and a fun, alternative vibe that continues to make it an ideal destination for those seeking a distinctly local Humboldt flavor. While they sold the property in 2023, The Redwood Riverwalk lives on as an independent escape, an artists’ haven, and an inclusive community gathering place. In April of 2023, the couple announced the acquisition of a historic building in downtown Napa, just next door to The Bungalow, that will be renovated and eventually opened as the Gentleman Farmer Guest House.
Gentleman Farmer has been producing acclaimed wines since its 2005 founding. Wołosz and Durham are thrilled to be at the vanguard of the next wave of wine country hospitality with The Bungalow: A Studio for Gustatory Well-Being.
Reservations for individuals and groups are now available. For more details on pricing and membership discounts, visit gentlemanfarmerwines.com. For reservation inquiries, visit gentlemanfarmerwines.com/experiences, email concierge@gentlemanfarmerwines.com or call 707-948-6107.
About Gentleman Farmer Wines
Founded by Joey Wołosz and Jeff Durham, Gentleman Farmer specializes in elegantly crafted, old-world inspired wines from sustainability-farmed vineyard sites in Napa Valley. The first vintage was produced in 2005, and the couple offer a unique culinary experience alongside their wines. Partners in business and husbands in life, Joey and Jeff founded their boutique winery as a means of reconnecting with what is real, and what it means to be human in an increasingly digital age. Gentleman Farmer wines are therefore an ode to the tactile, the analog, the acoustic, and the artisanal. In 2023, Joey and Jeff debuted The Bungalow: A Studio for Gustatory Well-Being, a remodeled 1926 California craftsman bungalow in downtown Napa, offering social experiences modeled after the intimate (and rare!) experience of dining in a winemaker’s home. For more information visit gentlemanfarmerwines.com.
