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For folks who need a proper post-election, pre-holiday moment to unwind, how about soaking in a tub of red wine? There is now a place for just that: Portland’s first full-service wine spa opens for business Nov. 19 at 1517 NE Broadway, in the former Massage Envy space.
Every experience at the Wine Spa is infused with elements from grapes, vines or wine itself. The star attractions are the vinotherapy baths, a soak made of a signature blend of warm water, Epsom salts, botanicals and red wine. All of the massage and facial products are by French vinotherapy brand Caudalie.
The concept of the Wine Spa came to Kelly Lewis, who owns the company with her husband Nate DeFrees, when she was on a tour of Armenia and the Republic of Georgia last April.
“I was sitting in a tub of red wine, as one does, and I thought to myself, ‘This is the coolest thing. Wouldn’t it be so fun to bring this to my wine-rich backyard, my hometown of Portland, Oregon, and celebrate and feature the wines of the Willamette Valley?’” Lewis says.
The fine print: While the owners say the bath does not sting or stain, they do advise wearing a dark-colored swimsuit or your birthday suit in the tub. It can’t get you drunk, though there is a non-alcoholic version of the treatment available upon request. And please do not drink the bath water.
The wine for the vinotherapy baths is provided by Terra Vina Wines, but they’re not dumping $40 bottles of Pinot into the tub. Rather, they’re using wine that would have been discarded due to bottling, labeling or processing errors.
“It’s getting a second life in wellness,” Lewis says.
Treatments start at $99 for a 45-minute soak and go up to $399 for a two-and-a-half-hour deluxe package that includes a massage and a facial. All treatments come with a complimentary glass of wine for those 21 and up, selected with help from the in-house sommelier.
GO: The Wine Spa, 1517 NE Broadway, 503-946-8450, thewinespapdx.com.