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EW IN OTHER NEWS June 2014 69 by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Staff Writer Ophthalmologist brings medical spin to wine brands in Napa Valley Dr. Thompson, his wife, and two other families manage Jessup Cellars and two additional wine labels V ance Thompson, MD, Vance Thompson Vision, Sioux Falls, S.D., has been juggling a career in oph- thalmology and a wine business going on 10 years. He dis- cussed his interest in wine, acquiring a vineyard, and how his business has evolved over the years. "My passion is ophthalmology, but my wife and I have always enjoyed cooking and wine," Dr. Thompson said. "My parents brought me up that way; they both loved to cook and they loved to pair wines." Getting into the wine business It has now been about 9 years since Dr. Thompson acquired his wine business with his best friend from medical school and their wives. They used to travel together to Napa Valley and ended up loaning money to a winemaker who later declared bankruptcy. When the bankruptcy court gave them the rights to the wine business, the two families decided to stay in the business and then invited in a third partner family. "Originally, we did not intend to be in the wine business. But when this all occurred we had a decision to make. Do we sell the assets of this business or move forward with it? We decided to move forward and it has been an exciting journey," Dr. Thompson said. That winery is now called Jessup Cellars and is owned by Dan and Becky Blue, Roy and Cheri Eisiminger, and Dr. Thompson and his wife, Jana. Jessup Cellars is located in Yountville, which Dr. Thompson explained is ideally located at the epicenter of the California food and wine world. The tasting room is just north of the French Laundry, a world-famous restaurant in Napa Valley. The winery itself is on the southern edge of the town of Napa. The winemaker for Jessup Cellars is Rob Lloyd, who Dr. Thompson said has a great Napa Valley winemaking pedigree and has taken the winemaking to higher levels. Because of the success of Jessup Cellars, two other brands were started, the Handwritten and Humanitas labels. Many people were asking for recommendations for other places to enjoy a wine experience like they had at Jessup Cellars, so the team decided to expand, Dr. Thompson said. Handwritten features handmade wines and handwritten notes. "We loved the fact that all our wines are handmade, with old-world techniques; there was a lot of neat theming that we felt we could do," Dr. Thompson said. In this digital age, a handwritten note is such a precious gift, he said. The Humanitas label focuses on the connection to medicine. "That has to do with all three families Jessup Cellars is in Yountville, which is ideally located at the epicenter of the California food and wine world. Source: Joel Quigley Abbott Medical Optics (AMO) Page: 5 and 31 Phone: 714-247-8314 Fax: 714-247-8682 www.amo-inc.com APACRS Page: 41 Phone: 65-63278630 www.apacrs.org Alcon Laboratories Inc. Page: Cover 2, 3, 22, 23, Cover 4, and 70 Phone: 800-862-5266 Fax: 800-241-0677 www.alconlabs.com Bausch + Lomb Page: 15 and 16 Phone: 585-338-6536 Fax: 585-338-0898 www.bausch.com ESCRS Page: 64 and 65 www.escrs.org Epsilon USA Page: 27 Phone: 909-984-4614 Fax: 909-984-4671 www.epsilonusa.com FCI Ophthalmics Page: 37 Phone: 781-826-9060 Fax: 781-826-9062 www.fciophthalmics.com Glaukos Page: 43 Phone: 949-367-9600 Fax: 949-367-9984 www.glaukos.com Gulden Ophthalmics Page: 67 Phone: 215-884-8105 Fax: 215-884-0418 www.gulden ophthalmics.com Katena Products Page: 10 Phone: 973-989-1600 Fax: 973-989-8175 www.katena.com LENSAR Page: Cover 3 Phone: 954-889-7804 Fax: 407-386-7228 www.lensar.com Marco Ophthalmic Inc. Page: 7 Phone: 904-642-9330 Fax: 904-642-9338 www.marcooph.com MicroSurgical Technologies Page: 29 Phone: 888-279-3323 Fax: 425-556-0437 www.microsurgical.com New World Medical Page: 47 Phone: 909-466-4304 Fax: 909-466-4305 www.ahmedvalve.com Nidek Page: 54 Phone: 800-223-9044 Fax: 510-226-5750 www.nidek.com Oasis Medical Page: 35 Phone: 909-305-5400 Fax: 909-305-9987 www.oasismedical.com RPS Inc. Page: 21 Phone: 855-776-9322 Fax: 941-556-1850 www.rpsdetectors.com Rhein Medical Inc. Page: 13 Phone: 813-885-5050 Fax: 813-885-9346 www.rheinmedical.com Stephens Instruments Page: 40 Phone: 800-354-7848 Fax: 859-259-4926 www.usiol.com ASCRS•ASOA 2015 ASCRS Symposium and ASOA Congress Page: 18 ASCRS Winter Update 2015 Page: 33 ASCRS San Antonio Meeting Page: 26 ASCRS Clinical Spotlight Page: 66 ASCRS•ASOA 365 App Page: 17 EyeWorld Digital Page: 24 EyeWorld Video Page: 46 Index to Advertisers continued on page 70 69-72 ION_EW June 2014-DL_Layout 1 6/3/14 12:57 PM Page 69

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