By the time Gene Wai Doo graduated from Punahou School in 1957 and departed for Colgate University he was a state championship tennis player and a doctor-in-the-making. He completed his medical training at Ohio State University and returned to Hawaii in 1970 a board-certified otorhinolaryngologist (a specialist in surgical treatment of the ear, nose and throat.

Doo practiced medicine in his surgical specialty and taught at the UH-Manoa Medical School. He also provided free clinical services in the community in Waianae and Kalihi Valley, on Molokai and Lanai, and at the Waikiki Health Center.

In his free time, Doo became a knowledgeable collector of fine wines and joined two international wine clubs. Travel became a hobby he shared with his wife, Cecelia, as their children reached adulthood.

Doo, who retired in 2014, celebrated his 80th birthday Aug. 21.

What was most fulfilling about working out in the community — seeing patients literally “under a tree,” in Molokai?

I got to put to work what I had learned. That made it positive for me.

Where did your interest in community service come from?

My mom and dad were very generous. I think I get it from them — generosity, and wanting to do it right.

If you buy a bottle of a very rare vintage, do you ever drink it — or does the bottle go from collector to collector until decades become centuries?

I am not a collector of wine in that regard. Most of what I bought was for wine tastings, which are about tasting the wine, enjoying it and discussing it.

How big is your collection?

I still have about 1,000 bottles but I was very specific in what I bought — bottles of La Tache Burgundy in a series from 1959, 1962, 1971, 1978, 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1990, for example. Some of the guys in the group have cellars of 100,000 bottles with separate generators in case the power goes out.

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen as a collector and connoisseur?

Wines that we bought 20 years ago weren’t that expensive. Now when you buy the same wine you say, “I would never pay that much for that wine.” With all the wealthy collectors coming out of China, we really don’t have a chance.

Is there a vintage or a vineyard you’d like to find?

That’s a good question. (The year) 1959 was so great, but I don’t know how (wines from) 1959 would be doing now, 60 years down the road.

Is there something that might surprise people who knew you only as a doctor?

I don’t know what that might be today, but there was a time people were surprised that a Chinese guy from Hawaii knew something about wine.

Is there something you see as a family legacy?

You could say we’re here by accident. My granddad, Doo Wai Sing, was on his way to California to dig for gold but he was so seasick, cause they stuck all the “Chinamen” in the hold, that when the ship reached Honolulu he said, “Forget California!” and stayed in Hawaii. He didn’t want to do sugar cane, he didn’t want to do pineapple — so he started the family store, the Yat Loy Store (on North King Street), from nothing. My dad founded his own store, Hauoli, and most of my family went into retail. Hawaii is a wonderful place, but if my granddad hadn’t been so seasick we wouldn’t be here.