Matthew resides in Jamestown, Rhode Island and since 2020 is the Wine Director of the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival which occurs each September for the past 16 years. In addition, he teaches consumer wine classes both in person and virtually and has recently launched The Cellarist which tie wine sales into the education aspect of the business.

Previously Matthew was part-owner and operator of a restaurant called Jamestown Fish (2011-2018). The restaurant was included on Wine Enthusiast’s 2018 List of America’s 100 Best Wine Restaurants and held the Wine Spectator Best Award of Excellence. Matthew was voted the 2014 and 2015 People’s Best New Chef (New England) by the readers of Food & Wine Magazine.

Early in his career, Matthew worked at some of New York’s finest establishments such as Daniel and Gramercy Tavern. He was the opening Beverage Director for Tom Colicchio’s Craft in 2001 and was voted Best Wine Director by the readers of Time Out NY magazine in 2003. Craft was awarded 3 Stars in the NY Times and was the 2002 James Beard Best New Restaurant.

Matthew attended NYC College of Technology attaining a BT in Hospitality Management / Culinary Arts. The college’s excellent resources provided an opportunity for him to study and work in renowned kitchens in Europe such as the three Michelin star Michel Guérard and Ristorante Cibrèo. Slow Food invited Matthew in 1993 to participate in a three-week seminar in Italy focusing on the wines and food of Piedmont. This full immersion was a pivotal moment that sparked Matthew’s passion for wine and is when his serious wine study began with the WSET (Q&A link) of London. In 2019 Matthew was honoured to be accepted into the Institute of Masters of Wine Study Programme and looks forward to sitting the Stage 1 Assessment in 2022.