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Caudalie

It seems like just yesterday I was a guest of svelte, soignee Florence Cathiard and her handsome husband Daniel at their Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte estate in Graves during En Primeur - the annual event when the latest vintage is unveiled and tasted by the world's fine wine journalists. In addition to producing excellent wine, the couple and their adult daughters are the force behind Les Sources de Caudalie, a gorgeous luxury hotel spa where the secret ingredient in all treatments comes from the grape.

Two years ago I experienced an incredibly delicious lunch, and managed to see the attractive, relaxing looking rooms and the glass-walled pool where (mostly) sleek Europeans presumably come to take the waters and get fit. Curiously, though, reinforcing the French paradox, the property's two restaurants were full of diners enjoying wine and multi-course gourmet meals (including cheese and dessert), while the treadmills in the exercise room were empty.

Can wine hold the secret to a slim physique and great skin?

The executives behind the elegant Plaza hotel in New York - and many other plush hotels worldwide - seem to think so, as they have opened the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa which repllicates the splendor of a French chateau nestled among the vines. I am very excited because on May 24th the French Institute will offer a special tasting of  the renowned Château Smith Haut Lafitte at the Caudalie Vinothérapie® Spa at The Plaza. The Spa’s sommelier, Cliff Rames, will lead guests through the legendary wines of Château Smith Haut Lafitte.

Now Chareau Smith Haut Lafitte is offering a new, lower priced "second wine" which will be available in America soon, called Chateau Cantelys, which the Cathiards just decided to export as “Recession Proof Wine.” Chateau Cantelys is a 40-hectare estate of which 24 hectares are under vine in the commune of Martillac in the heart of the Pessac-Leognan appellation. The estate is a single block located on a gravelly rise, with the average age of the vines 20 years. I tried both the red and the white and they were very good quality, with the white being especially vibrant and aromatic. I hope you will be able to taste some at the spa!

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