EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/82503
September 2012 Sinskey wines Success at the end of the rainbow Source (all): Robert Sinskey, M.D. root stock that the original wine- maker had selected was infested by phylloxera, a root louse that eventu- ally kills the vines. "There is no cure for it; you have to take it all out," Dr. Sinskey said. This amounted to a multimillion-dollar procedure when he factored in the amount it cost to initially plant the vines, the 56 acres affected by the infestation, and the years it took to get a decent crop. In 1989, as well as 2009 and 2010, too much rain resulted in sub- par grapes. The vineyard was able to ride out such events thanks to Dr. Sinskey's ophthalmic success. "For- tunately, I was well capitalized be- cause of my practice," he said. Now the wine is well received. "We have a good product, and we straightened out our problems," Dr. Sinskey said. "Now we're known not only nation- ally but internationally." Throughout it all, even when financially pressed, the Sinskeys protected their vineyard's good name by selling any wine that they felt was less than their best under a second label dubbed Aries. Dr. Sinskey remains optimistic about the business, which in recent years has expanded to include a truffle farm, allowing the organic vineyard to take on a biodynamic label not possible when grapes alone are grown. "The future is good, but you have to work hard constantly," he said. "It's not something that I could have run from 500 miles south of here." He credits his son with RSV's ultimate success. "My son was the one who saved the day for me," he said. "I would have had to sell it." Besides distance, Dr. Sinskey's heart was elsewhere, he admitted. "My first love is medicine," he said. "You lose an eye, it's serious stuff, you lose a barrel of wine or part of a vintage, and it's only money." Still, RSV has become yet another impressive part of Dr. Sinskey's storied legacy. EW Contact information Sinskey: 310-393-0206, rsinsk@robertsinskey.com