Matteo became Master Sommelier at his first attempt in October 2020, during the most challenging Covid pandemic: after many years of study and training he finally joined an elite of only 267 wine professionals in the world, who have passed the examination in 52 years.

With names like Aqua Shard, The Ritz, Locanda Locatelli and Edition Hotels on his CV, with a number of awards and titles, Matteo Montone is now Group Wine Director at Maison Estelle Group and Gleneagles.

Having started out with the aim of working in tourism, Matteo quickly decided that wine was more interesting and, following a trip to Montepulciano in 2008, switched his focus to wine and hospitality. In 2013 he moved to London and since then he achieved the Sommelier Diploma in 2016, was awarded GQ UK Best Sommelier and crowned Chaine des Rotiesseurs International Best Young Sommelier in 2019. He is also a WSET certified Educator and runs courses up to Level 3.