Sauvignon soak.(vinotherapy)

Spas were once places far removed from the vices of too much food and wine. Now, soaking in a tub of wine-laced spring water and later partaking of the local vintage is considered good for you. Vinotherapy, the practice of using wine by-products for spa therapy, gives new meaning to the French paradox of healing the body with wine.

Try a Jacuzzi filled with grape-seed extract, feel the tension melt away with a Sauvignon massage or, for the ultimate in stress relief, a vinotherapist will wrap you in a balm of honey, wine yeast and oil. But don't worry, none of the treatments use fermented wine--only the juice, must and oil--so you won't come home feeling or looking like you've been marinated and cooked in Beef Bourguignon.

The practice of spa vinotherapy originated at the Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte in Martillac, a town in the Bordeaux region of France. During a visit to the chateau, Joseph Vercauteren, a local pharmacology professor, was appalled to see the winery throwing out tons of seeds and skins from grape crushings. At the time, he was patenting a process using grape seed oil for skin care products. The professor's visit led the Cathiard family to build a hotel, restaurant, spa and a line of skincare products. The company also recently opened Spa Caudalie, a member-only spa in Las Vegas.

Packed in the seeds, skins and juice of every grape is an extremely high level of antioxidants and polyphenols that heal skin damage and improve small blood vessel ...