Tomorrow is National Doctor Day, a great time to recognize the Doctors of Paso Robles Wine Country.

Curious about the health benefits of wine? Food & Wine Magazine just published an article on 8 Health Benefits of Drinking Wine. Overindulged and need a new hangover cure?

Hear it directly from the experts: Dr. Serena Friedman, Four Sisters Ranch Vineyards & Winery, Dr. Douglas Hauck, Hammersky Vineyards and Dr. Mareeni Stanislaus, Guyomar Wine Cellars – our Paso Wine Doctors.

Thanks for keeping us healthy and in stock of delicious wine!

Winery & Vineyard Owner and General Practitioner

Are there any similarities between medicine and the wine industry? As a doctor and wine producer, I make people healthy in many ways. The health benefits of wine in moderation are numerous and well documented, including increased cardiovascular health and longevity, fewer heart attacks and strokes, and lower rates of Alzheimer’s dementia, prostate cancer, and gallstones.  Wine also promotes good cholesterol.   Besides, we all know that drinking a glass of wine is relaxing and helps to reduce stress.

Do you endorse studies that wine is good for your health? Absolutely!  I have a whole lecture on this topic, which includes evidence from the British medical journal study where wine was combined as part of the “Polymeal Diet”.  The findings showed a 76% reduction in cardiovascular risk and an increased lifespan of greater than 8 years in both men and women.

Do you ever wish you partied more in college, aka “studying wine” vs studying medicine? Yes, yes, yes!  Studying medicine was all consuming and rigorous.  There was no time for play.  I watched my friends having fun while I was buried deep in textbooks.  Studying wine, while still a lot of work, is a real contrast to medicine.

What wine do you prescribe? A Cab a day keeps the doctor away! I’d recommend our Four Sisters Ranch 2010 Flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, or Serena’s Private Reserve 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon.

WINERY & VINEYARD OWNER AND Ob/Gyn

Are there any similarities between medicine and the wine industry? Both are intensely social and involve friends and family at times of great emotion.

Do you endorse studies that wine is good for your health? I do believe that there are a multitude of studies demonstrating the beneficial effects of wine on cardiovascular health, but I do not specifically prescribe it for this purpose.

Do you ever wish you partied more in college, aka “studying wine” vs studying medicine? I am fortunate to have no regrets in this arena, I had an excellent balance of partying and scholarly pursuits.

Doctor’s recipe to cure a hangover? Coconut water and any NSAID (e.g., Advil)

More stressful- medicine or Mother Nature? Surgeons learn early to manage stress. I think they are both stressful but Mother Nature’s unpredictability is probably more stressful insofar as humans don’t flourish in situations beyond their control.

What wine do you prescribe? Anything red. This also goes well with National Go Red for Women day, a campaign to bring awareness to heart disease in women.

WINERY & VINEYARD OWNER AND DENTIST

Are there any similarities between medicine and the wine industry? Both medicine and wine are part science, part art. Combining purpose and passion, they are highly specialized fields that require attention to detail with some level of experimentation and a lot of dedication – not to mention there is a social connection in each industry, too.

What led you from medicine to wine? Both are total opposites from different origins, but the juxtaposition of the two creates the ying and the yang for the balance of life.

Do you endorse studies that wine is good for your health? Yes, resveratrol an antioxidant compound in red wine is good for a long life. Plus, everything in moderation, right?

Doctor’s recipe to cure a hangover? A Red Eye – it’s a large pint glass filled with tomato juice, pepper, salt, and a cold beet all mixed together. It does the trick!

What wine do you prescribe? HammerSky’s 2014 Straight de Barrel Red Blend – This wine is taken straight from a new French oak barrel and bottled unfiltered, unfined, not polished. Straight de Barrel offers the unique opportunity to savor the wine it in its natural state as if tasting it straight from the barrel using a wine thief.

Dr. Serena Friedman offered a few more fun facts…

• The longest living man and woman each drank a glass of red wine daily (including a European Grenache)
• The polyphenol concentration is higher in red wines than in white wines or beer, including Quercetin and Resveratrol, which work synergistically to reduce atherogenic plaque
• 60% lower incidence of aggressive prostate cancer for those who drink 4 or more 4 oz. glasses of red wine per week
• Women who drank one glass of wine each day had a 60% decrease in colon cancer rates
• Moderate wine drinkers have the  lowest incidence of stroke – 40-60% less than those who don’t drink wine