EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/82503
100 EW IN OTHER NEWS September 2012 Robert M. Sinskey: The toast of the ophthalmic town by Maxine Lipner Senior EyeWorld Contributing Writer Uncorking success as a vintner M ention the name Robert M. Sinskey, M.D., clinical profes- sor of ophthalmology, Jules Stein Eye Insti- tute, Los Angeles, in ophthalmic circles and you're likely to be told of his Hall of Fame status with a career rich with innovations such as his patented Sinskey Modified J Loop IOL and his widely used Sinskey Hook. Or perhaps you'll hear of the retired practitioner's continued humanitarian work at the helm of the ASCRS eye hospital in Ethiopia, which in 2005 was renamed in his honor. However, those knowledge- able about wine can offer an entirely different picture—one of an experi- enced vintner who founded Robert Sinskey Vineyards (RSV), which now sits on approximately 200 prime acres in Napa. This biodynamic, organic vineyard has a well-known reputation for producing pinot noirs, proprietary California Bordeaux style reds, chardonnays, pinot blanc, and other fine wines offered at leading restaurants and sold worldwide. Ophthalmic oenophile ª5$7# W Woorld Ophthalmology Congress® of the Interna H ost: Japanese Ophthalmological Society Co-H ost: Asia-Pacific A cademy attional Council of Ophthalmology y of Ophthalmology t 999*7 *OUFSOBUJPOBM $POHSFTT PG 0QIUIBMNPMPHZ t t UI "TJ B 1BDJĕD "DBEFNZ PG 0QIUIBMNPMPHZ $POHSFTT UI "OOVBM.FFUJOH PG UIF +BQBOFTF 0QIUIBMNPMPHJDBM 4PDJFU Z Dr. Sinskey's foray into wines began inauspiciously in the 1970s after a divorce. Facing a duodenal ulcer, he traded his yen for an occasional shot of scotch or bourbon for wine. "I wanted to get back to having some alcoholic beverage and found that I tolerated wine better than hard drinks," Dr. Sinskey said. However, when it came to selecting the best bottles at restaurants, he was at a loss. "I didn't know anything about wine, and the waiters didn't know anything about it either," he said. Instead of becoming a label drinker, Dr. Sinskey schooled himself. "I began to collect wine, read about it, and go to wine tastings and blind tastings," he said. In 1980, this new oenophile was handed the opportunity to become one of 42 partners in the Acacia winery, based in Napa. In the thick of his ophthalmic career, Dr. Sinskey considered this a sideline. "I was traveling all over the world teaching and doing high-volume surgery and didn't have that much time," he said. "But when I would get a break for a weekend, I would come up, and I began to buy land around Acacia." He had hopes of growing his own grapes. Dr. Sinskey also loaned the www.myreg gistration.net/woc2014_r g _ eg Join us April 2-6, 2014 www w..woc2014.org www. www.facebook.com/woc2014 twitt r.tter.com/woc2014 winery some money to expand on its Bordeaux-style wines, but before long it became clear that the winery was faltering. "I found out in 1983 that the president wasn't paying the bottler or the grape growers and was just running up a tab, and we were about to go bankrupt," Dr. Sinskey revealed. One of the other partners