From grapes to computer systems, these physicians are branching out

Brunno Ristow, MD, cultivates his Napa Valley vineyard, J. Paul Martin, MD, "dabbles in technology" and David Winn, MD, concentrates full-time on practice management software.

By Tyler Chin, Cheryl Jackson and Julie Jacob, AMNews staff. Aug. 26, 2002.

Making sidelines pay
Doctors who branched out beyond running their practice tell why they did it, how they did it, and what you should know before you do it. Contribute

In this new series, physicians share their experiences with making sideline business ventures pay off. Our first three profiles spotlight the owner of a winery, a partner in a CME credit-documentation service and the founder of a company providing Web-based systems for medical practices.

Name: Brunno Ristow, MD

Specialty: Plastic surgery

Location: Practices in San Francisco, but spends his weekends in Napa Valley, where he owns the Quinta de Pedras vineyard.

Business: Ristow Estate winery

Annual revenue: Dr. Ristow would not give specifics, but he said he sells about 2,000 cases of cabernet sauvignon wine per year. Bottles are sold for $65 each; each case contains 12 bottles, equaling about $1.6 million in sales.

Why he started the business: When Dr. Ristow bought property in Napa in 1992 for a weekend home, a neighbor suggested he grow grapes on some extra land. He sold the cabernet sauvignon grapes to a winemaker affiliated with the Beringer family, who said the grapes made the "most extraordinary wine he had ever tasted." That praise led Dr. Ristow to expand his vineyard by purchasing an additional 23 acres in 1992, then more land in 1995. [...]