In fact, you can forget about drinking altogether because you are about to sit in a bath of wine rather than throw it down your neck. Simply relax and enjoy its bouquet and texture in this most unusual way to appreciate wine.

Try ordering a glass of “Alt Empordà”. A red wine, such as a Muscat, a Great Reserve or even a Gran Claustro, a bottled delicacy originating from Empordà near the Costa Brava. Whatever your preference, you will be surprised to find that this is the latest means to a total skin cleansing. How about a facial using a “Great Reserve”? Or would you rather try a “Gran Claustro”? Ipso facto, the treatment you will get will be a two-hour thermal bath. This is how wine is tasted at the Wine Spa, the first health and beauty centre of its kind in Spain. After California and Bordeaux, it is the only place in the world where all treatments are based on grape therapy, known as “Ampelotherapy”.

The centre is located in the “Golf Peralada” hotel at the Peralada resort, a few minutes away from the Costa Brava and the Catalan Pyrenees. The Wine Spa combines therapeutic treatments with ancient Roman thermal bathing methods: grapeseed oil for an anti-stress massage; Muscat solutions for hydro-massages with a toning action and an anti-cellulite effect; grape concentrate to soothe pain; red wine for bronchitic inhalations; wine-scented soap to combat fatigue in the shower…

There is no limit to the treatments that ampelotherapy can offer. These treatments go back to the year 130 B.C. when Greek doctor Galeno prescribed grapes to his patients. More than 1,800 years later, the results still speak for themselves: grapes stimulate the production of collagen, prevent premature ageing of the skin, enhance blood circulation and strengthen the immune system. At last, you can enjoy wine as a health & beauty therapy and not just with your taste buds.

Fact Box

Hotel Golf Peralda, c/Rocabertí, Peralada (Girona)
T el.+34 972 53 88 30. Website: www.grupperalda.com