A day in the vineyard: unveiling healing earth wellness at Laborie Estate
Beneath ancient vines at Laborie Estate, something rare took root. Healing Earth opened the Cape Winelands’ first luxury vinotherapy destination, not merely a spa, but a new chapter in how wellness is felt, lived, and remembered.
· 3 min read
A welcome that slowed time Guests arrived to a lavender hand-washing ritual, the quiet pull of a harp drifting through the vineyard, and sensory stations that told the story of vinotherapy, vine to skin, earth to soul. The reimagined Pinotage collection stood at the heart of it: deep burgundy body rituals, refined facial creams with botanical wine notes. Before a single product touched skin, the philosophy was already clear.
A table of belonging Under the vines, a long table was laid. Seasonal dishes, shared family-style, turned strangers into a circle. This was earth-to-skin made tangible, nourishment, connection, presence.
Jo-Ann Strauss opened the afternoon with words that cut to the core: Healing Earth has never chased trends. It has stayed true, to its roots, its science, its soul, and the world has taken notice.
A vision, spoken aloud Founder and CEO Elisabeth Brandt took the stage with quiet conviction: “Healing Earth was never created to be admired from a distance. It was created to be felt, through touch, through experience, through human connection.”
Decades of discipline. Years of research. A brand built to stand anywhere in the world and still speak the language of its South African soil. Laborie, she said, is where vision, place, and partnership finally meet.
The spa, revealed The 1691 Champagne cellar, reimagined by architect Marnus Erasmus, opened its doors. Inside: a wellness studio, a sunken lounge anchored by firelight, a Hammam Rasoul, heated and cold plunge pools, sauna, infrared steam, and treatment spaces built for solitude or togetherness. Water runs through the heart of it all, a quiet thread of movement and stillness.
Nothing is accidental. Every stone, every scent, every note, placed with intention.
Then came the moment that said everything. Guests stepped into the vineyard and harvested their gifts from the vines themselves, Healing Earth bundles hanging among the grape clusters. Harvest to formulation. Earth to hand. A ritual, not a reveal.
What lingered One guest said it best: “It truly was the most exquisite experience. What has been created here is exceptional.”
What comes next Healing Earth Wellness at Laborie Estate opens to the public in June 2026. Bookings open late May. The Pinotage Vinotherapy collection is available online, in-spa, and through select global partners. Brahman Hills is next on the horizon.
From vine to vitality. From heritage to healing. From Pinotage to you.
This is more than a spa. It is South Africa taking its place on the global wellness map, on its own terms, in its own voice, through its own soil.
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