Martin Meeker is a historian with three decades experience documenting the history of California, including wine, politics, and culture.

Meeker earned his doctorate in US history from the University of Southern California and has taught at San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley. From 2003 to 2022, Meeker worked at the Oral History Center of the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, first as a staff historian then as the Center’s director. He created, managed, and completed several major oral history projects and conducted well over one thousand hours of interviews while with the Center. Meeker conducted interviews on a vast range of topics and with people from all walks of life. Included among these were several interviews that focused on California’s wine industry, from pioneering winemakers and wine growers to leaders in the areas of wine law and wine public policy. In addition to conducting interviews, Meeker is an award-winning author of original historical books and articles.

Upon leaving the Oral History Center in 2022, Meeker began digging deeper into the history of wine in California while also initiating studies at Santa Rose Junior College leading toward certificates in Viticulture (anticipated in fall 2024) and Enology (anticipated in fall 2025). Wanting to move beyond the academic path, Meeker took a position as a cellar intern with the legendary Dehlinger Winery for the 2023 harvest. With his current research project on California’s historic vineyards, Meeker seeks to combine his areas of expertise, passion, and curiosity.