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Miguel Martin, who has worked for some of the world’s leading wine producers in Spain, Chile, California and Australia, has been appointed winemaker at Plamer Vineyards, the award-winning winery on the North Fork of Long Island, NY.

Martin, 42, a native of Madrid, Spain, brings to Palmer nearly 20 years of winemaking experience, including winemaking positions with such leading producers as Gonzalez Byass, of Spain; Robert Mondavi, of California; Yalumba, of Australia; and Caterra, of Chile.

“Miguel Martin is an important addition to the Long Island winemaking scene,” said Robert J. Palmer, owner of Palmer Vineyards. “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, who took over the winemaking chores at Palmer on Sept.1, joins a small, but growing coterie of international winemakers, who after working in some of the world’s best-known wine regions have chosen to ply their trade in Long Island’s relatively small appellation. Their growing numbers suggests that Long Island, with its ever improving reputation among wine critics and consumers, has gained credibility in the global community, too.

“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.”

Martin is ready to put his passion to work at Palmer. “My goal is to get to know the region and use my experience to produce better wines,” he said.

Until July, Martin was technical director of Otero, a year-old, 300,000-case-a-year winery in Castilla-La Mancha built in the past year near Toledo, Spain, at a cost of 17 million Euros by Gonzalez Byass, the Spanish wine producer best known for its Tio Pepe sherry. Before joining Otero he was director of winemaking at Bodegues Sumarroca in Penedes, Spain. From 1997 to 2003, Martin was varietal program manager for white wines at Mondavi’s 6-million-case Woodbridge Winery. He also served as winemaker and vineyard manager at Durney Vineyards, a 25,000-case premium wine producer in California’s Carmel Valley and before that was winemaker at the 250,000-case Calitera Winery in Chile. His experience also includes work at Yalumba Winery in Australia’s Barrosa Valley, the Gloria Ferrer Winery in Sonoma, Calif.; LeReve Winery in Southampton and Pazo del Ribeiro in Orense, in Spain’s Galicia region.

Martin has an undergraduate degree in agricultural engineering with a specialization in fermentation sciences from Universidad Politechnica de Madrid. He also holds a masters degree in enology and viticulture from the Center for Agrarian Investigation, Finca El Encín in Madrid. Martin also studied advanced winemaking at the University of California-Davis, where he also was involved in research projects.

Martin, his wife, Ellen, a teacher of Spanish in the Southold School District on Long Island’s North Fork, and their three children reside in Southampton.

Established in 1983, Palmer Vineyards, the most-awarded winery on Long Island, has been described by New York Times wine writer Howard Goldberg as “Long Island’s most important winery.” The Palmer Vineyards tasting room on Route 48 in Aquebogue, NY, is modeled on an old British pub and its tasting deck, overlooking the vineyards, is spacious. For more information about Palmer Vineyards go to www.palmervineyards.com.

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