The fax came through in the middle of the night, Eastern Standard Time. My Crushed Cabernet Body Scrub was scheduled for 10 a.m., it read. My Barrel Bath was at 11:30. At 4 p.m., I was booked for an enveloppement of Wine and Honey. Unless I preferred the Merlot Wrap. In between, a three-course lunch would be offered, followed by a wine tasting. For a minute I thought I was in the midst of some far-fetched bacchanalian dream. Then I realized that I was in fact awake and the fax was coming from a new spa, Les Sources de Caudalie, which I would soon fly off to visit. The spa is in France. More specifically, it's in the wine-mad region of Bordeaux. Naturellement. Who else but the Bordelais could conceive of a spa that not only encourages the drinking of wine but also uses it as the centerpiece of a new health treatment---vinotherapy.

The $10 million Sources de Caudalie opened its doors last June amidst the vineyards of Smith Haut Lafitte winery in Martillac, 10 miles from the city of Bordeaux. The spa's unusual slimming/anti-aging vinotherapy concept takes its cue from the now celebrated French Paradox study, which concluded that the French, though they eat a typically high-cholesterol diet, have low levels of heart disease in part because of their daily glass of vin rouge. Red wine, the study found, contains antioxidants called polyphenols, which help keep arteries glowing with health. Further studies have suggested that the grape might be good for the outside of our bodies as well. Grape-seed extract also contains polyphenols, said to be up to 10,000 times more effective than vitamin E in stopping the free radicals responsible for 80 percent of premature wrinkling. Using this research, in 1994, an enterprising twenty-something couple, Mathilde Cathiard and Bertrand Thomas, launched a line of wine-based beauty products. After the Caudalie line became one of the hottest names in skin care, a spa seemed to be a logical next step. Conveniently, Mathilde Cathiard-Thomas' parents, Florence and Daniel Cathiard,owned the Smith Haut Lafitte vineyard. The Cathiards bought the run-down vineyard in 1990 and have since built it into a producer of some of the most accomplished wines in the Bordeaux region. Besides a beautiful setting, the vineyard possessed a 500-meter-deep source providing water full of beneficial minerals such as iron, sulfur and fluoride. And, the enterprising parents told their equally enterprising offspring, all those leftover pips from the annual harvest could be put to some innovative uses.

I spent four days at the Source de Caudalie at the height of the vendage last October, a perfect time to visit. The leaves on the rows of grapevines were in full splendor. The sky was a hard blue, the temperatures still warm enough for swimming in the lap pool set in the middle of the vineyard. After an early morning train ride from Paris on the high-speed TGV, I arrived in Bordeaux and got a cab for the quick trip to Martillac. The cab ride served not only to get me to my destination but also as a further reminder of where in the world I was. The driver was as knowledgeable about wine as a sommelier in the ritziest restaurant. After 10 minutes, we pulled up to the Chateau Smith Lafitte, and I got out in front of the hotel, which is attached to the spa. Occupying three buildings, the luxury hotel is reconstructed from 18th-century materials, all overlooking the undulating vineyards and a lovely lily-filled pond ruled by two fat swans. Once installed in my room (furnished with carefully chosen antiques), I headed out to the spa for my first day of treatments.

The Caudalie spa is headquartered in a building modeled on an old tobacco-drying shed, where light streams through the wood-shuttered windows. The spa manager met me at reception and began to outline my day's itinerary. I have to admit that I half-expected her to stifle a smirk as she explained the odd-sounding treatments I'd read about en route. How, for example, grape marc would be poured into a barrel and I would be left to marinate in the dark red mixture. I should have known better. The French have always treated spas with the utmost seriousness (stays at health resorts are usually covered by state medical insurance), and for all its gimmickry, Les Sources de Caudalie is no different. After changing into my spa robe and slippers, I was lead to the treatment room by a technician with the solemnity of a convent school girl. First up was the anti-cellulite Barrel Bath (besides the wine marc, other by-products of viticulture are mixed with essential oils and poured into a barrel-shaped hydro tub filled with water from the vineyard's source). As I lay there marinating in the bubbly concoction, looking out from my barrel onto the magnificent scenery, I'm not sure if my cellulite was actually melting away, but my cynicism slowly was. Afterward, the technician led me to the tisanerie, or the herbal tea room, for one of the red-wine infusions (taken lying down) that is part of the Barrel Bath treatment. My head was starting to feel as light as, well, when wine is used the traditional way. I very nearly had to be frog-marched to my next treatment, the Wine and Honey Wrap. For this, a gooey paste of wine yeast extract, Bordeaux honey and organic essential oils is spread over the body. This, the technician told me, will improve skin tone and circulation. Covered with a warm wrap, I was left to slow cook for 20 minutes.

The rest of the day continued on this same sybaritic route to good health. A three-course lunch featuring steak in Bordelaise sauce at the Table du Lavoir---located in a very pretty 17th-century wine shed once owned by the Rothschild Lafitte winery---was followed by a visit to the chateau. (The tour is available on request through the hotel.) There, I and a handful of other guests were shown the endless rows of oak-barrels in the cave as the wine-making process was explained. The visit ended with a comparison of Chateau Smith Lafitte's 1995, 1996 and 1997 crus. Later, I finished the afternoon with a Sauvignon Massage (a toning rubdown using grape-seed extract and oils). Or should I say the massage finished me off. I have a vague memory of vegging by the pool, maybe even of doing a few laps, and of dinner that evening. I definitely remember sleeping like a rock.

It's hard to say after just a few days at Sources de Caudalie whether grape pips and polyphenols really are the future of skin care. But I will admit that I sneaked out to buy Caudalie products once back in Paris. (They are available in the U.S. at Sephora's and Barneys.) And I can't imagine that anyone would say Caudalie's pampering treatments, excellent food and wine, and delightful surroundings do anything but good for one's state of well-being. "Santé," say the French when clinking glasses in a toast. "To your health." Indeed.

Bon Appétit: You won't be surprised to learn that food is a central part of the spa experience at Sources de Caudalie. After all, this is France. Besides the brasserie-style Table du Lavoir, there is La Grand'Vigne, the spa's gourmet restaurant. Both are run by chef Didier Banyuls, who previously owned a Michelin two-star restaurant in Ceret, near the French-Spanish border. His wife, Marie-Louise, an acclaimed sommelier, is in charge of the 10,000-bottle wine cellar. At La Grand'Vigne, Banyuls has patented an innovative lower-calorie menu, with meals clocking in at 500 calories, including, of course, a glass of Smith-Haut Lafitte. His less calorie-conscious gourmet cuisine, strong on the flavors of France's South-West, is also on offer. This wonderful food is served in small portions, another secret that the French seem to possess.

Caudalie's other amenities include a cigar tower and a bar, Le French Paradox, where guests can sample by the glass offerings from the top vineyards of Bordeaux. For those who insist on a truly spartan spa experience, there is also the option of a "detoxing grape cure," nothing but grapes for one to seven days, available during the wine-harvesting season, September to November. Sources de Caudalie Spa, Chemin de Smith Haut-Lafitte, Martillac, France. Tel: 33-5-57-83-83-83, fax: 33-5-57-83-83-84.