What is this place, really? Thirty miles north to south, about five miles across at its widest point, it’s definitely the most famous wine region in the United States, and one of the most famous in the world. It’s jammed full of wineries: 475 at last count. And it’s often jammed full of people visiting those wineries — some 3 million a year. In fact, it’s one of the most popular tourist attractions in California.

Napa Valley makes some of the greatest Cabernets in the world, definitely. It abounds in excellent restaurants, wine shops, and hotels. Without a doubt, it’s a delightful place to visit. The trick is doing it in a way that won’t make you feel like you’re tourist number 3,000,001.

The most alluring new spot for me is the Gentleman Farmer Bungalow. Joey Wołosz and Jeff Durham, partners in business and in life, make very good wine, but more than that they have a sharp curatorial eye: their 1926 Craftsman bungalow on the edge of downtown feels like an expression of everything you wish wine country would be. Call it elegant cheekiness, or cheeky elegance — the place has antique light fixtures but also a stack of vintage Playboys in the bathroom. The kitchen is beautiful, all butcher-block and blue tile, and also functional. That’s the point. Wołosz is a terrific cook, and starting the day with the bungalow’s wine breakfast — a tasting of current releases, but also gougères straight from the oven, house-smoked pancetta, individual soufflés, and more — is not to be missed.