Matt Check, Head Winemaker and co-founder of Cellar Beast Winehouse, has over a decade of wine experience. He seamlessly merges his background as a wine professional with his experience as a winemaker. From his formal training as a Level IV Sommelier at the Wine School of Philadelphia, Matt’s expertise is that of a professional sommelier, master winemaker, and wine expert. He uses his real-world experience working with premium AVAs and varietals, and conducts extensive blind tastings and wine pairings, enabling him to create wines reflecting each location’s terroir.
Matt’s intimate relationships with premium West Coast growers in major wine regions like Red Mountain and Willamette Valley complement Cellar Beast’s wine menu, providing high-quality fruit from terroir-defining sites. His sommelier background adds depth to his duties as a wine expert and wine steward, enabling him to design wine programs that appeal to a wide variety of tastes and potential pairings, not least with his critically acclaimed Dark Angel, rated 97 points in Sonoma’s Sunset International.
Matt’s passion for wine goes far beyond production: he is a professional wine educator and author who shares his opinion on the style of wine and varietals with his peers. With formal education from the National Wine School and a deep dining and restaurant service background, he’s an industry-respected wine director dedicated to sharing wine knowledge and highlighting the diversity of the great wine regions from California to Chile — combining craft and knowledge to showcase the essence of the vineyard in your glass, which led him to co-found Cellar Beast.