Enhance & disseminate the scientific knowledge of wines' health benefits.
Enjoyment of wine and winemaking at regular events.
Convivial fellowship with members at dinners, winery tours, tastings, and seminars.
Sunday, Nov 10, 2019
MAC Club
Saturday, Feb 29, 2019
Koblegarde's
May 2019
Portland
Coming Soon
Coming Soon
A History ofThe Society of Physicians for Wine and Health
In the early 1980’s, Joe and Pat Campbell were guests of the Medical Friends of Wine in San Francisco where their 1979 Elk Cove Pinot Noir was the featured wine. That meeting sparked Dr. Campbell’s idea of a similar organization in the Portland area to promote education of the health benefits of the moderate consumption of wine. Dr. John Bauers and Dr. Fred Benoit had also attended San Francisco meetings with the same interest in mind.
By the late 1980’s Oregon was gaining international fame for its Pinot Noirs. In 1988 Dr. Cecil Chamberlin travelled from Kansas to attend the second annual International Pinot Noir Celebration (“IPNC”) in McMinnville Oregon. The evening before the IPNC event, Joe and Pat Campbell hosted a BBQ at their vineyard. Guests included Dr. John Bauers and his wife Sally, Dr. Fred Benoit and his wife Mary, Dr. Dave Shultheis and his wife Sandy, and Dr. Cecil Chamberlin.
In 1991 Dr. Chamberlin retired, moved to Portland, and joined the Knights of the Vine. Dr. John Bauers was founder and Grand Commander of the Oregon Chapter of that organization, now known as the Oregon Wine Brotherhood. Several early organizational meetings were held at Dr. Bauers’ Dundee Hills Vineyard, one of the oldest vineyards in Oregon. At one of these meetings Dr. Bauers recommended Rupert Koblegarde, an attorney and CPA and Knights of the Vine member, to be legal and accounting counsel.
It was at a meeting at Dr. Joe and Pat Campbell’s Portland home that founding members, Dr. Joe Campbell, Dr. John Bauers, Dr. Cecil Chamberlin and Dr. Fred Benoit chose the Society of Physicians for Wine and Health as the name for the new organization.
On April 14, 1995 these physicians, constituting the original Board of Directors, signed the Articles of Incorporation for the Society of Physicians for Wine and Health: John Bauers, D.O. Fred Benoit, M.D. Joe Campbell, M.D. George H. Caspar, M.D. Cecil R. Chamberlin, M.D. George Porter, M.D.
From the beginning membership was limited to 50 members in order to allow the organization to hold events in restaurants and smaller facilities rather than in hotels.
Originally membership was limited to persons holding an M.D. or D.O. degree. Changes to the bylaws now allow membership to persons who hold a doctorate degree other than an M.D. or a D.O. These include individuals, who have an interest in wine, from related medical fields including dentists, nurses, veterinarians, and medical technologists.
The Board of Directors oversees the operations of the Society. The current Board of Directors includes, Dr. Tom Dunham, Executive Director; Dr. David Wilson, President; Dr. Dan Saucy, Treasurer; Rupert Koblegarde; Legal Counsel, and Dana Lloyd, Executive Secretary. The Board appoints committees to plan events.
The Events Committee was the first committee appointed. It consisted of Cecil Chamberlin, John Bauers, and Rupert Koblegarde, and shortly expanded to include David Shultheis. Currently Dr. Peter Kane heads up the Events Committee. Other committees are the Wine Committee headed by Dr. Raj Sarda, the Education Committee headed by Dr. Ray North, and the Membership Committee headed by Dr. George Caspar.
During the early days, Events Committee meetings were simple occasions; meeting to plan events while sharing a bottle or two of wine and some cheese and crackers with light hors d’oeuvres. Then one evening at a meeting at the Koblegardes’ home, Rupert’s wife Bobby Jo prepared dinner for the group and it was decided to change the meeting format. Since then the board meetings and events committee meetings, as well as other committee meetings, all start with blind wine tastings along with hors d’oeuvres followed by dinner prepared by the host. After dinner the business part of the meeting takes place.
Originally Cecil Chamberlain did all of the secretarial work, assisted by his wife, Mary Ellen. As the membership grew and the number of meetings and events grew, the work of the secretary also grew. Eventually the work became too much for Mary Ellen and the society recruited an executive secretary. In its 20 plus year history the society has had three executive secretaries, Vicky Dean-Swartz, Lee Ann Zarrabi, and the third and present executive secretary, Dana Lloyd. Dana is the daughter of Dr. John Bauers, an instrumental founder of the society.
Two educational dinner meetings: One in the spring and one in the fall, each with a speaker focusing on wine and health. The spring meeting includes the annual business meeting.
Two wine tastings: The summer wine tasting which often is also a garden party featuring blind tastings and some kind of a contest. The winter wine tasting where everybody brings a bottle or two of special wine to share. Both wine tasting events are catered.
A Wine Tour: The annual wine tour is held around harvesting time. The venue usually alternates each year one year being local, in or around the Willamette Valley and the next year in an area outside of the Willamette Valley and sometimes outside Oregon. Local tours are one-day events where the group travels to three wineries with a catered lunch at one of the wineries. Members get private tours of wineries and frequently get into wineries that are not usually open to the public. We get to learn on a first hand basis from the owners and winemakers. The out of town tours are usually Friday night through Sunday morning and feature Friday night wine tastings, a Saturday winery tour with lunch at one of the tastings and an elegant Saturday night dinner at a chosen winery.
Andris Antoniskis, MD
Rickland Asai, DMD
George G. Baker, MD
Harold Boyd, MD
Manjit Brar, MD
Joe Campbell, MD*
George H. Caspar, MD*
May Chang, DDS
Rita Coleman, BS
Jan Collins, MD
George Dechet, MD
Eric J. Dierks, MD
Tom R. Dunham, MD*
Deanne Fahy Price, LPC, LMFT
John Flaxel, MD
Robert Gilmore, MD
Price Gripekoven, MD
Robert Gross, MD
Charles Gutweniger, DDS
David Hale, MD
Michael Hoevet, MD
Joanne Jene, MD
Laurens Johansen, MD
Peter J. Kane, MD
Russell Keizer, MD
G. William Knight, DDS
Rupert Koblegarde, JD
Dolores Leon, MD
Mark Lindau, MD
John Lindgren
Derek Lipman, MD
William Nisbet, MD
Raymond North, MD*
Donald Olson
Lee Peterson
Robert Peterson, DDS
Donald Plumb, MD
Charles W. Poindexter, MD
Raj Sarda, MD
Daniel D. Saucy, DMD*
Brian Shaffer, MD
Neil Shay, PhD
Dave Shultheis, PhD*
Robert D. Simmons, MD
Mark Wagner, MD
Leigh Wilson
*Past President