Photo by George Barberis

Bionic Wines in Walla Walla Valley has begun offering The Bionic Experience. The single-seating lunch, referred to as The Bionic Lunch, is centered around top quality food, Bionic wines, and enjoyment.

“It’s what the French call l’art de vivre, the art of living well,” says Bionic Wines founder and vigneron Christophe Baron, a native of France. “It’s all about bringing people together, take your time with amazing food and exceptional wine.”

The Bionic Lunch is a collaboration with chef Matthew Lightner. Lightner was previously executive chef at the two Michelin star restaurant Atera in New York City. He was a James Beard Award semi-finalist in 2024 for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific for his work at ōkta in Willamette Valley. Lightner’s intent was to be ambitious with the menu while focusing on the wines.

“We want to pull from different cuisines and make our own type of offerings,” Lightner says. “We want to have some really refined, beautiful things, and then we want to match that with some more casual, relaxed items as well.” (View a sample menu.)

Resident chef Dan Clark, who worked at Vermejo in New Mexico and Canlis in Seattle, oversees development and execution of the menu. Tyler Alden, M.S., previously director of food and beverage at Willows Lodge in Woodinville, serves as director of hospitality.

The lunches began October 22^nd and are offered Thursday through Sunday at a cost of $150 per person. Wines currently poured include Champagne, Grenache, Tempranillo, and Syrah from across the Bionic Wines portfolio. There are other wines available for pours at an additional cost as well as special wines that can be purchased after the lunch.

“There has to be a sense of surprise and fun,” Lightner says. “Same thing with the food. It’s never going to be ‘This is the menu.’ It’s got to evolve seasonally.”

Baron founded Cayuse Vineyards in 1997, planting a vineyard in an area of Walla Walla Valley known for its cobblestone soils. The area received appellation status in 2015 as The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, though Baron prefers to call the area The Stones. Over the years, Baron added No Girls, Horsepower Vineyards, Hors Catégorie Vineyards, and Champagne Christophe Baron under the Bionic Wines umbrella.

Historically, Bionic Wines has been inaccessible to the public. All wines are sold via mailing list, with some requiring a years-long wait to join. List members can attend a pickup event one weekend a year. With The Bionic Lunch, there is a slight pulling back of the curtain.

“We want to show a bit of our world,” Baron says. “It’s definitely a new chapter for us.”

The idea was inspired by an experience Baron had in France at Champagne Jacques-Selosse. After meeting Lightner at ōkta, Baron suggested they collaborate. However, Lightner was solely focused on ōkta at that time. Baron circled back after the restaurant closed and Lightner left the company.

Initially, the intent was to host the experiences in downtown Walla Walla, where Baron owns several buildings. However, the cost of renovation was prohibitive.

Instead, they refocused on a 1910 Craftsman house on the same grounds as the Bionic Wines’ wine studio and other buildings. The house was renovated in 2009 and has been used for team lunches. Elise Porter of Mamo Collective designed the interior.

The space is intimate, currently seating a maximum of 14 guests. There are two tables for six plus a table for two. Seating is intended to be communal. There will be six seats added in what the estate refers to as ‘The Bowie Room’ in the spring of 2027. Overall, The Bionic Lunch hopes to capture the enjoyment of the French long lunch in Walla Walla Walla Valley.

“We are not opening a restaurant. We’re opening a Bionic Wines food and wine experience. It’s different,” Baron says. “We’ve been working with Chef and the team under the radar for the last couple of years. Now it’s time to show the world, wine lovers, and food lovers what we have here and what the Stones can offer.”

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