Vinotherapy: How it feels after a hot wine bath in Zichron Ya’acov facing the sea

If you’ve ever wondered what wine has to offer beyond drinking, Yama offers a detailed, indulgent, and especially fragrant answer. Vinotherapy is a holistic approach to body treatments that uses grapes, their seeds, and skins—all rich in antioxidants—for purposes of care, relaxation, and healing. At Yama, it’s not just a method but a way of life.

The vinotherapy experience begins even before entering the treatment room. Every detail is meticulous. The scents, sounds, lighting—all calm the senses and prepare the body for deep relaxation. But then the real magic begins.

The most popular treatment here, the Yama Treatment, combines three delightfully sensory stages: A natural scrub with crushed grape seeds and Dead Sea salts that leaves the skin silky smooth; a classic massage or focused treatment on the body’s extremities that relieves every tense muscle; and a buttery body wrap with grape extracts and essential oils that deeply nourishes the skin and leaves a captivating scent.

Unfortunately for me, the treatment is for women only, so my partner for the stay enjoyed it instead. She described the treatment as the closest thing to a pleasant floating sensation she had ever experienced.

I opted for a massage with vinotherapy body butter, enriched with grape peel and seed extract, shea butter, cocoa, and other organic essential oils. Amit, the massage therapist and host, explained to me that the body butter is extremely rich in antioxidants—polyphenols and resveratrol—which deeply nourish the skin, improve its elasticity, and give it a velvety softness.

Indeed, during the massage and long after, the muscles became more relaxed, as did the stress of life, which I had left outside the treatment room. The massage doesn’t just relax, soothe, and release—it also leaves the skin soft and smooth.

But the highlight is the wine bath: A secret blend of red Merlot wine, aromatic oils, grape seed oil, and additional extracts that fills the private jacuzzi in the room and provides a pleasant feeling of intoxication, as if you’d had a glass of Cabernet—without taking a sip.

“There’s something about the combination of steam, scent, and heat that soothes the soul like nothing else,” says Amit, the physiotherapist who developed the treatment methods himself.

The magic of Yama doesn’t end at the spa. The boutique suites themselves are located right on the cliff line in Zichron Ya’acov, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The balconies are equipped with hammocks hung at just the right angle to enjoy the breeze, and the beds are so comfortable you’re tempted to extend your stay without planning to.

The entire design combines natural wood, handcrafted ceramics by Ariella, and high-quality textiles selected with care. The bottle waiting for you in the suite—of course a high-quality boutique wine—is not just a culinary gesture, but another link to the place’s central motif: Wine as a complete experience.

At Yama you won’t find a mass spa. Treatments are only available to those staying in one of the suites, and the reason is clear—this isn’t just a spa, but a concept of personal tranquility. “We wanted to create something different—not a place with shift workers, but a place where every detail touches the heart,” says Ariella. This personal approach is evident in every detail—from the initial phone call to the personal explanation of the tea menu in the garden.

Like any good wine, Yama was also born of love and patience. The idea came about after a family dinner and a few glasses of quality wine. Ariella’s parents, Eunice and Peter, suggested turning the space under their home on the cliff in Zichron Ya’acov into something—but what exactly? In a flash of inspiration, influenced by what was in front of him on the table, Amit said: “Why not a wine spa?” and out of excitement, sat down that very night and developed an entire treatment plan that forms the basis of the treatments offered at the place today.

The transition from spa to suites was natural. Guests wanted to sleep, the couple agreed, and built with their own hands three suites that include every possible indulgence, making the place a sought-after romantic destination for couples looking for something far beyond just another vacation.

One of the greatest surprises at Yama is the feeling that time simply slows down. The wind blowing from the sea, the cries of the gulls, and the scent of the surrounding trees create a bubble of calm that is hard to find elsewhere. Even when not in a treatment, just being on the balcony with a glass of wine in hand and clouds changing color before your eyes is enough to clear your head and recharge your body with positive energy.

The suites invite a slow stay: Reading in an armchair, soaking in the balcony jacuzzi, taking a long bath, or having an especially deep sleep.

In summary, Yama is more than a place—it’s an experience. A perfect combination of luxury and intimacy, of body treatment and soul pampering, of sea and wine. And the fact that it was all built by hand and with love only makes it even more special. And if you manage to leave without planning your next visit—you probably didn’t drink enough wine. Cheers!