Matthew Carroll has been the wine director/ chef sommelier at 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church, VA for the past year. He has worked closely with Chef Bertrand Chemel to create nightly wine pairings that accompany multiple tasting menus.
Prior to coming to 2941, Matthew served as sommelier/cellar master at The Inn at Little Washington where he managed the 12,000-bottle wine cellar through inventory and daily maintenance. And until the end of 2009, Matthew also worked as a crisis counselor for special needs students where his responsibilities included mediation, training and counseling – skills that have served him well as a sommelier. Matthew has completed the Court of Master Sommelier’s Advanced Sommelier Exam and placed third in the northeast region in the 2010 Top Somm Competition. Matthew is passionate about educating his staff and guests and ensuring that wine is accessible to a broader group of consumers.
Matthew suggests that someone interested in becoming a sommelier should connect with a wine professional in their community and begin a study curriculum that included lots of tasting. He is glad to be participating in the Best Sommelier in America competition because he believes that being judged in a forum like this pushes his limits as a student and professional sommelier in extraordinary ways.