Matthew Kaner's Linkedin Analytics

Fermented grape juice has allowed me to have a voice within an industry full of characters and strong personalities. I quite enjoy how things smell and taste. In fact, as a kid I wouldn’t eat anything until I smelled it first. Now an 18+ year veteran of the wine world, my humble wine career began at the Wine Cask Wine Store in Santa Barbara, California where I also grew up. Moving to Los Angeles in 2006 brought an opportunity to work at Silverlake Wine, where I worked my way up from holiday help to the manager. In 2009, my close friend Dustin Lancaster came to him with an idea…”I want to open a wine bar and I’ll only do it if you’ll do it with me.” The only acceptable response: “you tell me when and where.” In July of 2010, Los Feliz’s Bar Covell opened with a new spin on wine…ditch the traditional wine list and use your words. Bar Covell has a program of over 150 wines by the glass and the staff instead start a conversation/interaction with each guest to gage what they are in the mood for at that moment. This was just the beginning... I was graciously was named one of the Sommeliers of the Year by Food & Wine Magazine in 2013. In early 2015 with Lancaster and new partner David Gibbs, the trio opened Augustine Wine Bar in Sherman Oaks. Augustine has been named Best Wine Bar in American by Food & Wine Magazine and gets critical acclaim for its Vintage Collection of wines that it makes available by the glass and by the bottle on their in-house chalk boards nightly. In August of 2019 Wine Enthusiast Magazine named me to the 40 Under 40 Tastemakers list for 2019! This year I signed on officially with the SommTV Streaming Network as a Host, Producer, and to help with Business Development. Please inquire via DM to speak about partnership/sponsorship opportunities of our Podcasts, Series, or for entire network sponorships! I am President of Will Travel For Wine, Inc and will travel anywhere and everywhere for wine. So far my travels have taken me up and down the coast of California, to Australia, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Morocco, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Oregon, Virginia, and New York State on wine adventures. I am available for consulting: - as brand ambassador or to represent wine regions around the world as ambassador - for remote wine tastings to lead a group through a curated list of wines - to craft wine lists for restaurants and/or wine bars - to train restaurant or wine store staffs on their inventory, and elevate their wine knowledge to help drive bigger wine sales