In recent years, wine has gained a prominent role in therapeutic and beauty treatments. While a glass of wine stimulates cardiovascular circulation, grapes and their berries combat aging thanks to their vitamins and polyphenols, which help maintain skin elasticity.
Consumers are no longer content with simply tasting good wines; they also want to benefit from their properties through beauty treatments, as the components of grapes provide multiple health benefits, such as preventing cellular aging, moisturizing the skin, and toning muscles. In this context, more and more spas and health resorts are opting for vinotherapy, a different way to enjoy wine.
What is vinotherapy?
Vinotherapy consists of a series of treatments that use different types of grapes, grape juices before fermentation, natural residues from wine production, wines, or oils derived from grapes for therapeutic and beauty purposes. Studies show that grapes are rich in polyphenols, bioactive substances found in grape seeds that effectively combat free radicals (cell protection), which are responsible for skin aging. Thus, bathing in wine improves skin quality, while using grape and wine-based products combats premature aging.
Freixanet Wellness has also opted for wine therapy, in line with its comprehensive "WELLNESS EXPERIENCE..." philosophy, which consists of combining all the necessary services so that both wellness centers and individuals can make their wellness project a reality.
Vinotherapy treatments have the ability, among other things, to tone muscles, reduce the abdomen, firm the buttocks, rejuvenate muscles and skin, and tone the breasts. They also serve as a relaxation treatment, through massages with fresh grape pulp and essential oils. Experts assure that a cream with grape extracts—or grape seed oil—reduces wrinkles. Thus, grapes have become an indisputable ally in combating the effects of aging on the face. They also help prevent the appearance of varicose veins and combat cellulite.
Each component of grapes offers different benefits that, working together, give the skin a healthier appearance, leaving it more renewed and fresh. Therefore, wine therapy benefits the body as a whole, as it promotes microcirculation, strengthens the cardiovascular system, and provides a feeling of well-being and relaxation.
Properties of Polyphenols
The properties of polyphenols listed below allow wine-based treatments to slow the aging of body cells.
Toning.
They play a fundamental role in the biosynthesis, maintenance, and repair of collagen, increasing the softness and firmness of the dermis.
They increase the resistance of capillaries.
They inhibit elastases and various enzymes responsible for inflammation, therefore they are soothing.
Anti-free radicals.
They act as detoxifiers for skin exposed to pollution, tobacco, excessive sun exposure, stress, etc.
They inhibit the oxidation of fatty acids and help maintain the cell membrane in good condition.
They protect genetic material.
Anti-allergenic.
They relieve muscle cramps, counteract varicose veins, reduce the risk of hemorrhoids, boost immune system function, improve arthritis, combat allergies, and lower blood pressure.
Vinotherapy Treatments
Vinotherapy is used in various spa treatments, such as thermal baths, sweat wraps, body massages, exfoliations, and facial peels, among others.
Vinotherapy and body peels: These are exfoliations made with grape seeds and grape seed oil, along with other ingredients.
Sweat wrap: The body is covered with red grape extract, grape seed oil, and clay.
Thermal baths: You spend time in a whirlpool bath with red wine products.
In addition, creams and emulsions have been developed for vinotherapy, which deeply hydrate the skin, provide radiance, protect the skin's supporting fibers, detoxify tissues, and improve circulation.
A Little History
In ancient times, European women already applied—albeit in an artisanal way—a type of facial mask made from mashed grapes. They used it to prevent the signs of aging, which was effective thanks to the antioxidant substances contained in the seeds and skin. Over time, these substances known as polyphenols have conquered the beauty industry.
Vinotherapy originated in the Graves region, in the hills of Bordeaux (France), a place where some of the oldest wineries and vineyards in Europe are located. Its creators were Frenchmen Matilde Cathiard and Bertrand Thomas, who opened the first specialized spa in the late 1990s, which they called "Vinotherapy." This innovative treatment quickly spread to Italy, Canada, and the United States due to its multiple benefits. Today, hotels, spas, and resorts in several countries around the world offer this new therapy among their treatments.
Hotels and Spas with Wine Therapy
In Spain, the first wine spa was established in Peralada (Girona): the Wine Spa at Hotel Golf Peralada, which Freixanet Wellness designed and built part of its wellness facilities. This wellness and beauty center is born from Peralada's winemaking tradition and offers visitors various facial and body treatments based on grape and wine derivatives.
In addition to the Wine Spa at Hotel Golf Peralada, Spain has other specialized centers offering wine therapy treatments, such as Can Bonastre Wine Resort and Hotel Valbusenda Golf & Spa.
Can Bonastre Wine Resort
One of the wine therapy centers designed and built by Freixanet Wellness is Can Bonastre Wine Resort, located on a farm in an incomparable natural setting with stunning views of Montserrat Mountain. The estate, located in the municipality of Masquefa, is a carefully restored 16th-century farmhouse with a total area of 100 hectares between forests, vineyards, and a farmhouse. It combines wine-related leisure activities with exclusive accommodations in a luxury hotel.
The Can Bonastre Hotel has an exclusive spa consisting of a sauna, steam bath, recreational showers, a sensation path, an indoor pool with a water circuit, and two massage cabins. Its signature treatment is wine therapy, although it offers all types of treatments to immerse its guests in an unparalleled state of well-being, thanks to the mineral and medicinal qualities of water and the antioxidant properties of wine. Its wine therapy-based treatments are as follows:
Can Bonastre Vinotherapy: a comprehensive, anti-aging, regenerative, and antioxidant treatment that provides the skin with all the richness of red vines.
Vinotherapy Facial: an intense regenerative therapy of elastin and collagen fibers that combats premature cellular aging.
Vine essence: the skin is softened with a body peeling that harnesses the richness of red vine seeds and oils. A relaxing massage is then followed with a nourishing cream extracted from the must. The results are exceptional, leaving skin smooth and soft from the first session.
Hotel Valbusenda Resort & Spa
This hotel, located on the former Valbusenda estate, has 63 hectares of land and is eight kilometers from Toro, near the town of Peleagonzalo. The only five-star hotel in the province of Zamora, it combines tourism, wellness culture, and oenology as a new recreational concept.
Freixanet Wellness was the company responsible for the wellness area of a cutting-edge winery that is part of the Hotel Bodegas Valbusenda tourist complex. Its Freixanet Wellness Professional division, along with architect Leocadio Peláez, contributed to the design and implementation of a high-end spa, offering visitors to Hotel Bodegas Valbusenda a unique and exclusive experience.
The wellness offering encompasses an 800 m2 area, which includes all the benefits of temperature contrasts and hydrotherapy, as well as spaces for special treatments such as vinotherapy. As a luxurious complement to this space, Valbusenda incorporates a VIP area, a private area where spa lovers can enjoy the exclusive equipment and the intimacy offered by an environment reserved solely for them.
This complex features state-of-the-art Freixanet Wellness equipment, which guarantees the most advanced technology and quality, hallmarks of the brand's long history.
