| Issue #26, September 22, 2006 |
There Is A New Wine Guy In Town
Palmer Vineyards Gets A New Winemaker With Two Decades Of Experience
By Lenn Thompson
On September 1, Aquebogue’s Palmer Vineyards has announced the appointment of industry veteran Miguel Martin as winemaker. A native of Madrid, Spain, Martin has nearly two decades of winemaking experience at some of the world’s best-known wineries — including Yalumba in Australia’s Barossa Valley, and both Gloria Ferrer Winery and Robert Mondavi in California. He also holds an undergraduate degree in agricultural engineering with a specialization in fermentation sciences from Universidad Politechnica de Madrid and a master’s degree in enology and viticulture from the Center for Agrarian Investigation, Finca El Encn in Madrid. Martin also studied advanced winemaking at the University of California-Davis — America’s most prestigious enology program. Robert J. Palmer, owner of Palmer Vineyards, said of Martin “Miguel Martin is an important addition to the Long Island winemaking scene. He brings not only 10 years of experience working with the highly regarded Robert Mondavi Co., but also has winemaking experience from all over the world.
This really qualifies him to understand the uniqueness of Long Island.”Martin joins a small, but growing group of international winemakers and winemaking consultants, who after working in some of the world’s most famous wine regions have come to Long Island’s relatively small region to find further success. Others include Macari Vineyards’ Paola Valverde and Helmut Gangl, Bedell Cellars’ Pascal Marty and Raphael’s Paul Pontallier. Clearly this is a reflection of the region’s growing reputation in the world wine community. “I wanted a place where I could spend more quality time with my family and do small-scale, hands-on winemaking,” Martin said, explaining his reason for coming to Long Island. “I think this region has great potential to make wonderful wine. My goal is to get to know the region and use my experience to produce better wines.”Martin, his wife, Ellen, a Spanish teacher in the Southold School District, and their three children are currently living in Southampton. Martin replaces Palmer’s previous winemaker, Tom Drozd, who has left the winery but is planning to remain in the local industry.
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