Get to know Matthew
About Matthew
Matthew W. J. Brown is a Charlottesville, Virginia–based wine professional, consultant, and researcher with over 16 years of hands-on experience shaping how people make, sell, and experience wine. A proud University of Virginia graduate (Class of 2010), Matthew holds a Diploma in Wines and Spirits (DipWSET) from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), one of the world’s most respected wine credentials, and continues his studies as a Stage 2 Master of Wine student. He blends analytical insight with a deep respect for craftsmanship, community, and the stories behind every bottle.
As Coordinator of the Virginia Wine Coalition, Matthew leads industry-wide research and market development initiatives designed to grow Virginia wine as a traded sector. His work includes conducting market and consumer research, analyzing supply chain and distribution opportunities, convening wineries and industry partners across regions, and connecting producers to new markets in Virginia and beyond. He works regularly with wineries across the state, giving him a working knowledge of the industry that spans the Virginia’s major growing regions.
I help people see wine clearly — whether they’re pouring it, buying it, or studying it.
Matthew is also a member of the Virginia Vintner’s Alliance, a group of Virginia wineries with shared export goals, where he helps coordinate domestic and international efforts to expand distribution of Virginia wines in target markets.
As Secretary of the Sustainable Virginia Vineyards board, Matthew supports work to advance sustainable growing practices across the Commonwealth’s vineyards. He also serves on the Piedmont Workforce Development Board, where he helps shape publicly funded programs that strengthen Virginia’s economy and open doors for wine and hospitality professionals. That role keeps him closely connected to the economic development and workforce partners whose collaboration drives regional growth.
At the Capital Wine School in Washington, D.C., Matthew teaches consumer and professional-level courses, including the WSET curriculum, known for making the complex world of wine feel both accessible and exciting. A frequent wine judge for the Virginia Governor’s Cup, the Monticello Cup, and the Shenandoah Cup, he tastes hundreds of Virginia wines each year, alongside hundreds more from around the world as part of his Master of Wine studies, providing a perspective that’s both global and deeply local.
With harvest experience in Virginia, California, and Argentina, and academic trips to nearly two dozen of the world’s leading wine regions, Matthew brings a rare combination of field experience, research discipline, and genuine enthusiasm to every project — helping clients and industry partners build stronger teams, smarter systems, and more competitive businesses in today’s wine world.
A family tradition.
Matthew’s passion for wine runs deep and is inspired by his late grandfather, Robert R. French, who worked alongside legendary wine merchant Alexis Lichine in the 1960s and 1970s helping to import the fine wines of Bordeaux into New York. The family stories of wine dinners, châteaux, and transatlantic shipments were Matthew’s earliest taste of the global wine world and they still shape his sense of connection between history, craft, and place.
Above: Robert R. French (fifth from left) at Château Margaux, circa 1960s. Below: his grandson, Matthew, standing on the same soil with fellow MW students more than 50 years later, in 2019.
