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. He was born Robert Joseph Prignano on July 16, 1934, in Forest Hills, Queens. 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 to the east, and Oakland Gardens to the north. ...

and attended

Chaminade High School Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic Marianist college preparatory high school for boys in Mineola, New York, United States. Chaminade’s main campus is also home to Saragossa Retreat Center, one of their three retreat houses. Athletics T ...

Mineola, New York Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village". ...

. 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 an ...

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"
''

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'', 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, 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 and sauvignon blanc. 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 is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

and at restaurants from California to

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to Gallagher's Steak House in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, where it is served as the house wine.Harrington, Mark
"Bob Palmer, owner of Palmer Vineyards, dies at 74"
'' Newsday'', 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), which include bacteremias when the infections are bacterial and fungemias when the infections are fungal, are infections present in the blood. Blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of micro ...

. 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