Tuscany is a land of wine par excellence, but perhaps you don’t know that, beyond the glass, Chianti and Brunello are equally outstanding as beauty treatments. Bathe in a tub full of the “nectar of the gods” or surrender to a grape massage. The technique is called vinotherapy and it’s been practised since ancient times, helping to reduce stress and rejuvenate the skin due to the polyphenols contained in the wine, which combats skin ageing. If you’re curious to try this special beauty treatment, check out a few places in Tuscany that provide it.
We start in Borgo Scopeto Relais, in the hills of Siena, near Castelnuovo Berardenga, which provides a gentle scrub, facial and massage, all based on wine whose grapes are selected from the winery’s estates. Also in Castelnuovo Berardenga, Relais Borgo San Felice offers an effervescent bath in wine must, followed by a regenerative olive oil massage.
Over at Castellare de’ Noveschi, in Gaiole in Chianti, try the Bacchus bath for two, a lovely tub for a romantic whirlpool in fine wines, which eliminates toxins and improves circulation. Also in the Chianti Classico region, both Borgo Casa al Vento and Castello di Spaltenna have taken Sangiovese grape must and elevated it to the quintessence of relaxation and beauty, used for therapeutic treatments, massages and regenerative baths.
Tenuta di Artimino, with its Medici Villa La Ferdinanda, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is nestled in the Carmignano hills, where there could be none other than a wine therapy spa, vaunting beneficial properties for the skin, which can be fully personalized by the professional staff.
In Borgo San Lorenzo, the luxury resort Monsignor della Casa provides many treatments containing grape extracts to its guests.
Wine is the recipe for beauty at the Falconiere Wine Resort in the Cortona countryside, whose spa caters to couples with red wine extract in copper vats, as well as an exfoliating grape pomace and honey massage.
Enjoy vinotherapy near Florence in a chestnut wood bath at Hotel di Sor Paolo, in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, or in the Upper Valdarno, at Il Borro, an old medieval village that was restructured as a luxury hotel complex in the stunning setting of Loro Ciuffenna.
Our tour ends at Adler Thermae in Bagno Vignoni, the luxury spa resort in the historic spa town near Monte Amiata, where you can choose wine-based massages, baths and special Brunello treatments, while Fattoria del Colle, in Trequanda, surrounded by the striking Crete Senesi countryside, combines Montalcino red wine baths and extra-virgin oil messages.
