During the height of summer one year in the early 1990s, Mathilde Thomas was, like many students before her, filling the gap between university terms with a job. Perhaps less common, her particular brand of employment involved taking people on tours of her family’s Bordeaux vineyard, Château Smith Haut Lafitte. Rarer still, an encounter during one of those routine tours would come to shape her entire career – and, as it turned out, change the course of skincare.
It was a hot day, and the pharmacists from the University of Bordeaux on Mathilde’s tour were interested in the processes involved in making the wine. She explained that they grew Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes for the red wine, while the white wine made use of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Gris. She walked them through the traditional methods employed at Smith Haut Lafitte, including the fact that as much as possible was still undertaken by hand and that they didn’t use pesticides. She then began answering questions from the assembled group.
One of the university visitors was Joseph Vercauteren, who asked what happened to the grape seeds after they had been extracted during the process of making the white wine. On learning they were thrown away, he exclaimed, ‘You’re discarding treasure!’ Vercauteren then explained the benefits of the powerful antioxidant polyphenols tucked away in those seeds (and in other parts of the grape plant, including the sap, stalk, water and oil). Mathilde’s lifework began in that moment, together with that of Vercauteren and Mathilde’s boyfriend (now husband) Bertrand Thomas. The trio embarked on a mission to patent the stabilisation process of those antioxidants and to harness their power in skincare form. Caudalie – and vinotherapy as we know it today – was born.
Thirty years on, vinotherapy is an established force in skincare. The antioxidants in grapes are recognised as being instrumental in arming skin with what it needs to handle the stress to which it is exposed daily. Clinical aesthetician Pam Marshall is a proponent of the use of vinotherapy products in a daily skincare routine. ‘Antioxidants can really help skin to fight off daily aggressors such as pollutants,’ she says. ‘It’s important to bear in mind, though, that the skin is where they’ll have the best effect – they work on the surface, neutralising free radicals, so it’s a good idea to think of antioxidants as a daily shield for your face, like a lightweight raincoat to help ward off the elements.’
Caudalie may still be the most famous name in the sphere, but because the efficacy of key ingredients associated with vinotherapy – such as resveratrol and polyphenols – have been proven in clinical trials time and again to do anything from reducing inflammation to stimulating collagen production, new brands are hot on its heels. The most notable of these is Beau Domaine, co-founded by Brad Pitt alongside the Perrin family, who have been winemaking in France for five generations. They source raw materials for their skincare from several vineyards in Provence, using ingredients found in grape skins, seeds and vine shoots that are discarded from the winemaking process.
The antioxidants in grapes are instrumental in arming skin with what it needs to handle the stress to which it is exposed daily
Other brands, like Irene Forte, may not consider themselves a vinotherapy specialist per se but still make use of key ingredients to amplify benefits – in Forte’s case, for example, in the form of her White Wine Body Cream, which uses organic Sicilian white wine sourced from the Di Giovanna winery.
Then there’s Vintner’s Daughter founder April Gargiulo, who took her inspiration from her family’s Gargiulo Vineyards in Napa Valley, applying their winemaking philosophies to skincare. That translates to slow formulation, a connection to source, and an eye on the quality of the raw ingredients that go into a product.
Marshall thinks the increased number of vinotherapy products owes something to their efficacy but is also because the skincare industry needs to make more of a concerted effort to focus on sustainability. ‘Making good use of by-products is a huge focus at the moment – for good reason,’ Marshall says. ‘We always have to consider the environmental load in skincare and make the most of resources.’
Jérôme Moisan, co-founder of the vinotherapy skincare brand Pelegrims, echoes this sentiment, adding that Pelegrims sources its core ingredients by upcycling ‘product that would otherwise go to waste’, including, for example, pomace postharvest. Additionally, he says, ‘We can trace the provenance of the grapes to an individual plot.’ He goes on to say that another advantage of working in this way is that there is a ‘hyper-local supply chain thanks to the proximity between the vineyards and our production lab’ – something he equates to the farmto-table concept in restaurants.
But while the grape that goes into a bottle of wine plays a critical role in how the end product tastes, grape variety plays a less important part in what makes an effective vinotherapy product. Rather, it is the universality of approach that is the key to skincare success. Essentially, the entire grape plant offers those precious antioxidants, so the best practice – according to experts such as Marshall – is to enjoy them as close to source as possible to maximise sustainability.
It therefore makes sense that ever more hotels, especially those with a vineyard nearby, are beginning to offer vinotherapy treatments in their spas. Ketevan Giorgobiani, the spa and wellness manager at Lopota Lake Resort & Spa, tells me that the Georgian property has implemented vinotherapy treatments because ‘guests are increasingly seeking treatments that are both indulgent and sustainable, and vinotherapy allows us to highlight the benefits of wine by-products in a way that feels rooted in our culture’.
Closer to home, South Lodge in West Sussex works with Pelegrims, which sources some of its ingredients from the hotel’s Ridgeview-managed vineyard on-site. ‘Consumers now are more drawn to environmentally responsible offerings,’ says the hotel’s spa manager Ian Mackie. ‘Our new vinotherapy treatments use by-products from the South Lodge vineyard, which aligns with the circular economy.’
In London, Aire Ancient Baths offers a Signature Wine Treatment that opens with a session of submergence in a literal bath of wine (Ribera del Duero) for half an hour. While reclining, you are served a glass of the very same wine; and the experience ends with a detoxifying massage using grapeseed oils.
Vinotherapy was traditionally the preserve of the very rich. Cleopatra reputedly enjoyed bathing in wine, as did Mary, Queen of Scots
While I’ve yet to try that particular treatment, the vinotherapy products I’ve used have impressed me, and I’ve noticed that they firm and strengthen my skin, thanks to the sheer number of antioxidants that fortify and protect from the elements, while giving the skin a boost by increasing collagen. Likewise, Caudalie’s body scrub treatment at its London spa uses satisfyingly nubbly Cabernet grape seeds suspended in honey to slough off rough skin with great success. My skin was soft as vellum afterwards. Vinotherapy was traditionally the preserve of the very rich. Cleopatra reputedly enjoyed bathing in wine, as did Mary, Queen of Scots, while the ancient Romans were partial to applying wine to their skin, which I imagine was something of a sticky, togastaining event. Happily, it’s now neither, with the 21st-century version of vinotherapy involving the best of both worlds: all the cutting-edge formulation in labs, combined with the history and sustainability of working with vineyards.
The formulation in labs is crucial, by the way. Yes, it’s lovely to imagine every vineyard the world over making the most of what would otherwise go to waste, but Marshall says, ‘It’s not good enough to just chuck some quality ingredients into a cream. How it’s made and how it’s formulated make all the difference to how your skin responds to it.’ In the right hands, though, slathering on a moisturiser of vineyard by-products may be every bit as pleasurable as drinking the wine itself.
The world’s best vinotherapy spas
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Aire Ancient Baths, UK
With a series of Roman-, Greek- and Ottoman-inspired baths housed in historical buildings, Aire invites you to spend a few hours unwinding in the centre of some of the world’s biggest cities, including London, Copenhagen, Barcelona and New York. beaire.com
Best for: Vinotherapy in the city
Price: The Signature Wine Experience, £450
Address: Various cities. London branch: 2–3 Robert Street, WC2N 6BH
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Lopota Lake Resort & Spa, Georgia
On the shores of a lake with the Caucasus Mountains surrounding the resort, the vibe at Lopota is nature, nature, nature – alongside a personalised approach to hospitality. lopotaresort.com
Best for: A picturesque escape
Price: Vinotherapy hydrotherapy (30 minutes) €230
Address: Napareuli, 2200 Telavi, Kakheti, Georgia
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Les Sources de Caudalie, France
Think ritual-based treatments to help you unwind while your skin soaks up all the vinotherapy goodness, followed by Michelin-starred food before you slope off to one of the tasteful rooms to rest. sources-hotels.com/bordeaux
Best for: European glamour with expert treatments
Price: Treatments start at €290
Address: Chemin de Smith Haut-Lafitte, 33650 Bordeaux-Martillac, France
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South Lodge Hotel Spa, UK
Every vinotherapy treatment using the Pelegrims brand is unique. Spa manager Ian Mackie says that each is designed to be a ‘never before and never again’ concept, owing to every extract coming from a single harvest and a single vineyard, all using by-products from the South Lodge vineyard. exclusive.co.uk/south-lodge
Best for: An English countryside escape with a side of vinotherapy
Price: Treatments from £150
Address: Brighton Road, Lower Beeding, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 6PS
