The Ritz-Carlton, Santiago is offering a true delight for a true oenophile: a Carmenere Wine Bath.

You may be accustomed to phoning the front desk to request your bath drawn, but until now, asking them to pour booze in it was something of a faux pas. Wine baths have slowly been gaining acclaim for their antioxidant benefits in various parts of the world, like in Japan where they celebrate the yearly uncorking of their Beaujolais Nouveau by pouring it into natural springs and soaking in it.

The Carmenere grape is a relatively new discovery; the grape was mistaken for Merlot until 1994 and has only been found in Chile. How fitting then, that when visiting Santiago, you can bathe in Carmenere.

No advance reservations are required; simply dial the front desk and ask that the Bath Butler draw you a Carmenere Wine Bath, and you will find your bathroom decked with candles and, of course, a wine-filled tub of pink bubbles full of antioxidants and a literally intoxicating fragrance. As an added indulgence, a glass of the Carmenere will sit bathside for you to drink as you soak.

The Carmenere Wine Bath at the Ritz-Carlton, Santiago costs $50.00.

Source :: www.luxist.com

Sunsets are like kittens and cherry blossoms — you have to be a real curmudgeon to dislike them, and even when they’re just ordinary, they’re still pretty terrific. This is why a great many destinations tout their spectacular sunsets, to the point where I roll my eyes when I see it listed among an area’s charms.

But I will say that the sun fading to night on the red rocks in Sedona, Arizona is unusually magnificent. So if you need a new reason to get out there and see it, here’s one: there’s a new Verde Valley Wine Trail, linking together wineries in Cottonwood, Jerome and other places in this part of the state.

The trail is an outgrowth of a documentary about the called Blood into Wine — which has been screened in theaters around the United States since February, with many more planned into the spring and summer. It’s been billed as the Sideways of Arizona — just add musicians, model Milla Jovovich, and, judging from the trailer, a smidge of Deadliest Catch-esque edginess, and bottle.

The real question for me is whether the wine is any good — I’ve actually not had any Arizona wine, to my knowledge. But I’d be willing to give it a go the next time I’m in Sedona. Worst case, I’ll always have the sunset as a consolation prize.

Source :: www.luxist.com

Henry VIII was a royal who did things a bit differently than everyone else and when it came to luxury the man knew how to live. The Hampton Court Palace has revived one of his royal pleasures, creating a Tudor wine fountain on the spot where his octagonal fountain stood in Base Court. The palace caretakers discovered the remains of a Tudor conduit or fountain during a major archaeological dig in 2008 and created the fountain based on the wine fountain shown in the Field of the Cloth of Gold painting which hangs in the Young Henry exhibition at Hampton Court Palace. The fountain flows with water every day but has been engineered, like Henry’s own wine fountains, to serve real wine on the weekends.

The fountain features 40 gilded lions’ heads based on those in the terracotta roundels that decorate the walls of the palace. The eight brass taps were designed based on a surviving Tudor tap found at the palace. The fountain bears a motto “faicte bonne chere quy vouldra” or “let he who wyshes make good cheere” in gilded lead letters based on those in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace.Each glass costs £3.50 in addition to the palace admission price.

Source :: www.luxist.com