Detox Then Retox in Wine Country

(HuffingtonPost.) - The first time I heard of a winery offering a yoga class was in 2008, at Periscope Cellars in Emeryville, CA. This was actually a yoga class where you sipped wine as you held various poses. We shot a session for an episode of In Wine Country and I love the shot at the end of the woman holding the wine glass with her foot.

Since then it seems that no matter where you are in American wine country you're not far from a yoga class at a winery. You can do your best downward dog at wineries in Temecula, CA, in the Lehigh Valley, PA wine country or along the Loudoun Wine Trail in Virginia. The trend has also taken off in Canada, especially in the Niagara grape growing region where there's a Yoga in the Vineyard Facebook page with 239 "likes."

In addition to yoga, you can also find other physical activities like Pilates offered at wineries, all with the intent to offer a different, healthy and fun experience in wine country, something more than just tasting wine. Of course after detoxing doing these workouts, retoxing with a few sips of wine seems like the natural thing to do.

Om at Wente Vineyards

Perhaps no other vintner is more into his asanas (yoga poses) than Karl Wente. Karl is the fifth generation winemaker at his family's winery Wente Vineyards in Livermore Valley. CA. Karl is a devoted yogi, practicing almost as long as he's been making wine. He started yoga to relieve back pain. "After my first practice, I was sore in ALL parts of my body, which to me was an indicator of how well yoga worked my entire body," he says. He was hooked from then on.