Robert Palmer (July 16, 1934 – January 16, 2009) was an American advertising executive who became a vintner and one of the pioneering developers of the wine industry on the North Fork of New York's

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He was born Robert Joseph Prignano on July 16, 1934, in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast and Flushing ...

. He adopted the surname Palmer when he started working as he felt people found it too hard to spell. He went to school in

Queens Village, Queens Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose, Queens and Elmont, Nassau County to the ...

and attended

Chaminade High School Chaminade High School is a Marianist college preparatory high school for boys in Mineola on Long Island, New York. Chaminade’s main campus is also home to Saragossa Retreat Center, one of their three retreat houses. The other retreat houses i ...

Mineola, New York Mineola is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and the county seat of Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 20,800 at the time of the 2020 United Stat ...

. He did not attend college and started employment in the advertising industry in his early teens. By 1970, he was president and chief executive of Kelly Nason, growing its billings from $14 million to $140 million by the time he left the position in 1978. He started a

media buying Media buying refers to the procurement of advertising on mediums such as a television, newspapers, commercial radio, magazines, websites, mobile apps, over-the-top media services, out-of-home advertising etc. It also includes price negotiation and ...

service, called RJ Palmer, in 1979, which he sold in the 1990s but remained active in the business until two years before his death.Weber, Bruce
"Robert Palmer, Ad Executive Turned Vintner, Dies at 74"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 24, 2009. Accessed January 29, 2009. After selling his interest in Kelly Nason, he bought land for his vineyard in 1983 in Aquebogue, in

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

, despite knowing almost nothing about the wine business. The winery he opened in 1986 was one of the most modern in the nascent wine-growing business on the North Fork of Long Island, and he made his business one of the most friendly to visitors. One of the first major investors in the area, Palmer Vineyards produces up to 16,000 cases of wine annually, specializing in

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

and

sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

. His company was one of the first to export wine grown on Long Island internationally. His wines have been served on

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

and at restaurants from California to

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

to Gallagher's Steak House in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, where it is served as the house wine.Harrington, Mark
"Bob Palmer, owner of Palmer Vineyards, dies at 74"
''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', January 17, 2009. Accessed January 29, 2009. Despite a personal preference for martinis, Palmer would taste all of his own wines and exercise final approval on his products, but did not otherwise prefer to drink wine. He had been impressed with people who could accurately identify wines while blindfolded by vineyard and a vintage, which led him to pursue

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

as a hobby. Palmer died at age 74 on January 16, 2009, of a

blood infection Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are infections of blood caused by blood-borne pathogens. The detection of microbes in the blood (most commonly accomplished by blood cultures) is always abnormal. A bloodstream infection is different from sepsis, w ...

. He was survived by the former Lorraine Wittmer, his wife of 50 years, four daughters and three grandsons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Robert 1934 births 2009 deaths American advertising people Deaths from sepsis People from Forest Hills, Queens American wine merchants