How can you make a splash in a place as celebrated and prestigious as Napa Valley? The area best known for its fine wineries and gorgeous grape fields has also been home to some of the world’s most exclusive and opulent wine tasting spaces. California’s wine country is notorious throughout media and culture as a place of rich history, gastronomical luxury, and diverse arts. A fact not lost on the Rockstar of Napa Valley, Lawrence Fairchild, as he sought to introduce a more vibrant and luxurious way to sample his fine wine in a place where it can be difficult to stand out as extraordinary.
Fairchild is a former Nebraska farm boy turned wine aficionado and the current mastermind behind one of the most collectible wine brands in the world, Stones Wine. He has a passion for art, design, and fashion and it is evident in his personal style. The best-dressed winemaker in Napa regularly rocks high fashion favorites like Dior, Valentino, and Yurman and while designing the world’s most beautiful wine collections. But to make the kind of splash in Napa Valley he was hoping for would require Fairchild to use his talents to design the world’s most luxurious wine tasting entertainment center rather than our generation’s most sought-after wine.
The House of Perrarus Entertainment Center was officially launched this year and it is a stunning collection of taste and luxury. When Fairchild began designing and building the House of Perrarus property in 2017, “it was a labor of love,” as he explained it, “and an exciting challenge to match the open-air modern space with the gallery feel of [his] house”.
The space will serve as Fairchild’s exclusive and personal domain for tastings. It is a venue perfectly suited for a new Michelin bites dining program, House of Perrarus: A Stones Wine & Michelin Star Experience. During this one-of-a-kind experience, guests will dine on specially curated bites from a Michelin-awarded chef paired with the Stones Wine collection. But this experience isn’t what’s making the big splash for Fairchild.
The House of Perrarus Entertainment Center was designed to be a space where Fairchild’s luxury clientele can fully immerse themselves in beautiful art, meticulous design, and very fine wine. From the moment you enter his space, you’re surrounded by a beautiful collection of art that Fairchild has long admired. At the entrance, you’re greeted by two stunning Wosene Kosrof pieces. Just as you turn you’ll notice the walls of the dining area adorned by a striking Cedric Bouteiller painting. Robert Mars, “Jackie O” then captures your attention from afar just as you begin to notice the intersection between fashion and interior design that Fairchild has lovingly placed around you.
The entertainment center has installed a fantastic Gucci Tiger-face wallpaper on a select number of walls to help its guests fully appreciate the role fashion has inspired throughout the space. Across from the dining and coffee tables are pieces that include an Emmanuel Fleury sculpture and a second Bouteiller titled “Marilyn” that truly illustrates the level of luxury, though, and design that went into creating the perfect tasting space.
To complete the experience, Fairchild has incorporated his exclusive wine bottle designs which include Perrarus 1, 2, and 3. When asked what else he might be hiding in his collection to surprise guests, he answered, “Guests can look forward to tasting our 96-100PT Fairchild and Stone wines which combine extreme detail of craftsmanship with modern art-based designs. The Stones Wine portfolio currently consists of five exquisite bottles turned art-pieces, Stones No. 1, Stones No. 2, Stones No. 3, Stones Longitude • Latitude, and Stones Chardonnay.”
Needless to say, this is how you make a splash in Napa Valley. When I asked Fairchild how he envisioned the future of The House of Parrarus Entertainment Center he said, “I want to create a world-class wine, food, and art experience in which our special guests can immerse themselves. Sharing some of the most exclusive wines in the world and developing one-on-one personal friendships has always been the goal when creating an art-driven brand and experience.”
Perrarus is Latin for rare or exceptional and is a limited-edition hand-blown glass collection that changes each year. Each collection is available by lottery only and limited to one bottle per member, never to be duplicated. Fairchild’s most recent collection, Perrarus 3: The Museum series will debut this month. The design is one not seen since ancient times and is a recreation of a Greek amphora from 6000 BC.
Because of the shape, the bottle cannot stand by itself and is elevated in a magnificent translucent museum case. The bottle colors and designs celebrate some of history’s most famed artists like Van Gogh, Basquiat, Warhol, Pollack, and Picasso. Perrarus 3: The Museum series is a collection unlike no other in the world and if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get a chance to sample from this one-of-a-kind bottle if you have the opportunity to visit Lawrence Fairchild at The House of Perrarus Entertainment Center.
| All photos courtesy of The House of Perrarus Entertainment Center/Fairchild Residence