A first-generation American, Martin has held influential roles in many sectors of the wine industry since 2002: wine director, importer, educator, international judge, award-winning winemaker, resilience activist, and writer. His wine story began with an over-indulgent Parisian dinner as a Stanford undergrad; soon after he was stocking shelves at K&L. In 2011, Martin became the principal buyer for national wine club programs including The New York Times, Food & Wine Magazine, Williams-Sonoma-Wine, and was named one of Wine Enthusiast’s Top Forty under Forty Tastemakers in 2015. After working harvest at Solomon Undhof in 2016, he took over production for Sonoma-based Peter Paul Wines.
Gradually, Martin developed a multifarious career that transcended national and cultural boundaries. Highlights include: becoming the first Master of Wine of Mexican descent, winning Best Paper at Vienna’s 2019 AAWE Conference for consumer purchasing behavior research, twice-producing one of Wine & Spirits Magazine’s “US Best Cabernets” for Peter Paul Wines, and twice being named one of Wine Business Monthly’s Industry Leaders—in 2020 for co-founding Wine Unify, and in 2022 for co-founding Napa THRIVES, a groundbreaking, community-driven, climate action symposium. In 2022, Martin joined Hiram Simon as Partner at WineWise, a well-respected CA-based distributor for producers like Lopez de Heredia, Tissot, Filipa Pato, and small grower-Champagnes.
During his spare time, Martin occasionally writes (his work has been featured in JancisRobinson.com and Napa Valley Viticultural Society’s Journal), co-hosts the James Beard-awarded FourTop podcast on the culture and future of our industry, judges for several international competitions, attempts to become fluent in a fifth language, and unfortunately for dinner guests, is an incorrigible purveyor of dad humor.