When I was living in the UK, I remember toasting the year’s grape harvest over a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau. Since I have been living amongst the vines myself here in south-west France, my family and I have celebrated many a wine harvest with the locals during a weekend’s Fête de la Vendange. We have watched barrel-rolling competitions, floats of young girls and women in their customary quichenotte (kiss-me-not) headdresses and we have eaten the same traditional dishes that grape-pickers of yesteryear ate.
Pampered In Vine Extracts
Last year was different, though – and very special – because I spent
la vendange in paradise. To be more exact, while my husband and children were wandering around the little French village of Martillac in the middle of the
Grave vineyards south of Bordeaux, I was being pampered with beauty treatments based on vine and grape extracts at the elegant
Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa. I include this episode here because it exemplifies the extent to which the French take seriously both
the frivolous and the serious in life, and this is one of the reasons why France is such a wonderful place to bring up a family.
A Natural Spa
This is the French art of living at its finest. The Spa is a natural thermal source and a luxurious centre for body care. Next door is its exclusive hotel
Les Sources de Caudalie in which every single suite and room has a unique character and where there are two gastronomic restaurants – one of which is a one-star Michelin. All this is in a setting of 130 acres of picturesque vines with a view of the 16th century tower of the Château Smith Haut Lafitte estate, housing cellars of red and white wine of great vintages.
The estate’s history goes back to the Crusades. A Scottish navigator, George Smith, became the owner in the 18th century. Large quantities of his wine were exported to England, gaining him an international reputation. Florence and Daniel Cathiard purchased the Château in 1990 and their passion for vines and their traditions led to a spectacular upturn for the label. Wine buffs know all about the sensation their award-winning wines have caused.
A Discarded Treasure
Not long after the Cathiards bought Château Smith Haut Lafitte, during the grape harvest of 1993, their eldest daughter Mathilde and her husband were out walking around the old
grand cru estate with Professor Vercauteren, a researcher at
La Faculté de Pharmacie de Bordeaux. When they came across a bin full of
discarded grape seeds, the professor pointed out that they were throwing away a real treasure. He went on to explain that the polyphenols concentrated in grapes contain anti-oxidants capable of effectively combating free radicals and their agents – smoke, stress, pollution – which are among the chief suspects in ageing skin. According to his studies, grape-seed oil slows down the skin’s ageing process and is rich in fatty acids so is therefore an ideal nutrient for softening and moisturizing the skin.
In September 1995, Mathilde launched a grape-seed-oil infused skin-care line called
Caudalie – named after the unit of measure oenologists use to describe how long a particular wine lingers on the palate. The whole secret of the patent rests on the stabilisation of grape polyphenols and The Claudalie Laboratories benefit from years of research done by the team at Bordeaux. The success of her effective Caudalie cosmetics line based on essential extracts derived from grapes inspired her to develop a pioneering range of therapies. In 1999 the Cathiards opened the hotel and spa,
Les Sources de Caudalie.
Vinotheraphy
At the spa, excess weight, wrinkles and cellulite are treated with the unique vinotheraphy techniques – using the discards of winemaking for the benefits of the body. In the Wine Barrel Bath, you can soak in bubbling hot spring water drawn up from 540 metres below the estate, plus fresh, finely-crushed grape extracts from seed, skin, stalk and pulp. A Crushed Cabernet Scrub may be the perfect start to your treatments to rid your skin of dead cells. There is the Sauvignon Massage available, using grape-seed oil from Sauvignon grapes. I personally, experienced the Pulp Friction Massage (which is only available during the
grape harvest) – a full body treatment – the benefits of which are to restore a clear, soft and moisturised skin. A wide range of treatments is available depending on the results you want and there is a medical team available to clients on request. The Spa offers a programme of exclusive treatments in a beautiful environment surrounded by vineyards.
Purification Or Pleasure
You
can pre-order special 500-calorie meals. During the harvest, a purification programme is offered that calls for eating only grapes, lasting anything from one to seven days. The treatment draws the toxins out of the body and works on the liver, intestines, kidneys and waistline.
But this is France! Clients come to unwind, to take better care of themselves and to relax. With pleasure in mind, the restaurants have two different approaches. One of them is the Michelin-starred ‘La Grand Vigne’. Its terrace, overlooking a pond at the foot of a vine-covered slope, was inspired by 18th century orangeries. The chef incorporates unusual ingredients into classic French dishes.
The other restaurant is ‘La Table du Lavoir’ which serves stylish country food in an informal atmosphere. It is housed on the site of a charming old washhouse where grape-pickers used to beat their laundry.
Award-Winning Wines
Naturally,
Les Sources de Caudalie goes hand in hand with
quality wines. The sommelier is responsible for a cellar of 15,000 bottles, amongst which star the red and white wines of the hotel’s own Château Smith Haut Lafitte wines, a
cru classé Graves.
During their stay at the hotel and between sessions at the spa, visitors can taste the most famous Bordeaux wines by the glass at the bar. At ‘La Tour aux Cigares’ with its magnificent view of the Château, they can relax with a fine
cognac and a Havana. For those guests really wanting to take advantage of the countryside, they can bike through the vineyards and forests, or tour the wine cellars of the famous Bordeaux wine region.
The bar at
Les Sources de Caudalie is called ‘Le French Paradox.’ It is thanks to the French that it is widely accepted nowadays that a glass or two of wine a day is good for you. What is apparent also is that the secrets of the grape are found not just in the glass but in its skin and seeds too.