http://instagram.com/p/uLZKs5qA9_

New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire is only 31, but he’s entering the 13th season of an NBA career that has seen plenty of miles on his surgically repaired knees. So it’s understandable that the veteran big man would spend plenty of time this preseason in the training tub, although maybe not one filled with red wine.

Stoudemire posted a photo to Instagram Wednesday of him bathing in red wine, which is actually not as bizarre as it might seem. Plenty of spas in California wine country offer “vinotherapy.”

Vinotherapy Studio in Atascadero claims that “The substances found in the acids of the wine grape are known to strengthen micro circulation while increasing the resistance of the blood cells and protecting the skin’s elastic and collagen fibers. Additional research shows that wine therapy (resveratrol) has been linked to help with skin cancers, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, muscle memory, toning of muscles, reduces varicose veins, eases allergies and fights stress and depression. Our grape-seed extract in our services is seven times more effective than Vitamin E.”

Stoudemire didn’t specify exactly what variety of red wine he was immersing himself in, but this leads to the question of whether there’s a certain level of wine snobbery when it comes to bathing wines.

If I’m a Hollywood producer and someone pitches me a script to Sideways 2 about Stoudemire and J.R. Smith going on a vinotherapy guys trip around the Central Coast, I’m bankrolling that project on the spot. [This is why I am not a Hollywood producer].

“I AM NOT BATHING IN ANY [EXPLETIVE] MERLOT.”