A viral vaccine comprised of a recombinant fowlpox vector construct encoding a modified epitope of the melanoma antigen glycoprotein 100 (gp100), ES-2092M(gp100), containing an endoplasmic reticulum signal sequence targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum apparatus. Vaccination with recombinant fowlpox-gp100p209 vaccine may stimulate the host immune system more efficiently to mount a cytotoxic T lymphocyte response against tumor cells expressing the gp100 antigen. [ ]