One of Canada’s top sommeliers launches new business, Tannin Management
Vancouver sommelier, Matthew Landry
Matthew Landry is a fixture in the Vancouver (and ultimately Canadian) wine industry. Having garnered a following for his quick wit, impressive list of accreditations, winning first place in BC’s top sommelier competition in 2019, and most recently, finishing second in Canada’s top sommelier competition - his name is one to be on your radar.
Matt recently launched his new company - Tannin Management - and I had the chance to pick his (quirky) brain on what he hopes to achieve, the services he offers, and his opinion on the wine industry at large.
LM: Tell me about your new venture - what are your services? What was the inspiration?
ML: Tannin Management is my farfetched idea of a wine consultancy program. Beyond events for clients and restaurants, I wanted to generate a bit of fun through the IG account and hopefully marry education with humour, mostly through memes. In person, I offer a range of tastings, seminars, wine list consulting and sales. Online, I’m just scratching the service of what I’d like TM to become. 95% of what comes out of my mouth at any second is a joke (or an attempt at one) so why not just lean into that?
LM: Do you think the industry needs more dissenting voices to provide less biased (or sponsored) perspective? Why or why not ?
ML: I’m not necessarily against sponsored posts (give me money pleaseeeee) as long as I can stand behind the product. I just think, as I scroll through a sort of personality-less field of sponsored content, unicorn bottle shots, and barely disguised soft core pornography, who is this all for? How is this spreading the Good Word? It’s depressing, honestly. Let’s get people to embrace wine for the right reasons. So yes, more truthful voices, more novel ideas, more appreciation and less fetishization.
LM: Why did you decide to step away from restaurants?
ML: I have worked in restaurants since I was 17. I’m a 35 year old man just learning to cook dinner for himself. It felt like time. I dipped my toes in ownership but ultimately decided it wasn’t the right fit. Also, as sommelier, as an employee of a restaurant owner, your first priority must always be making the guest as happy as possible, and ensuring you don’t run someone’s business into the ground. Yet, the more I fell in love with wine, the more I felt new allegiances - to obscure wine regions or weird grapes or uncommercial wine styles - and at that point, it became time to move on. Once I bought 48 bottles of Madeira for my little 30 seat restaurant, I knew my zealousness had gotten the best of me.
LM: You mentioned wanting to make wine more inclusive - how do you feel your approach differs from the many sommeliers and businesses claiming to be doing the same?
ML: Hmm. That’s the kind question I should have asked myself when creating my business plan. *thinking* Where I see my efforts bearing fruit is in the de-fancifying of the wine world without necessarily “dumbing it down”. There’s a lot of space between Cult Cabernet and “Spring Patio Pounders” and I want to bring people there. I want to foster a nerdy reverence for wine, really, and the only way I know how to do that is through humour and enthusiasm.
LM: You’re also a competition sommelier. What do you hope to achieve with this pursuit?
ML: I love competition. It may sound pretentious to make the comparison, but why is being the World’s Best Sommelier any more ridiculous than being the world’s fastest swimmer? I’m in awe of anyone who wants to be the best at something - there’s a wide-eyed optimism to it, like sure nothing really matters but I’m going to decide that this little thing does. And it’s that decision that gives the meaningless meaning. It’s infectious. And lets be honest, the free trips are a nice perk.
LM: What’s your opinion on the current state of Canadian wine? What could improve?
ML: Having just spent a week at BC Boot Camp, surrounded by dozens of professionals from around the country, I’m very optimistic. There’s enough people in all facets - sommeliers, winemakers, journalists - all pushing metaphorical stones up hills, going to bat for silly things like sommelier competitions and trying to make riesling popular with consumers. It’s only going to keep getting better.
LM: How do you best connect with consumers?
ML: One on one, always. Once you set them at ease - let them know that wine is meant to be enjoyed and that education is meant to deepen that enjoyment, not eclipse it - education becomes this joyous activity. With non professionals, I often encounter two types of responses - either a sort of unnecessary anxiety about “getting it” or an overly self conscious “wine is all a lot of bullshit” defensiveness. If you can get them to shake their preconceived notions, and turn them on to the joy of discovery, you create the best type of wine drinker.
LM: Pick a "starter kit" case of 12 wines for a keen enthusiast. What do you equip them with?
1. Current release Produttori del Barbaresco
2. Aged Produttori del Barbaresco
3. Really good Champagne
4. Really good Lambrusco
5. Oregon Pinot Noir
6. Bourgogne Rouge
7 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
8. Grosset Polish Hill Riesling
9. JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese
10. J Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon
11: Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
(they have to drink 10 and 11 at the same dinner)
12. Klein Constantia Vin de Constance
LM: What else can we expect to see from Matt Landry? What should we be excited about?
ML: I’ll be leading a host of seminars at Cornucopia in Whistler in November. More dumb videos and vulgar humour. More pictures of my dog Cowboy.
I’ll also be representing Canada at the Best Sommelier of the America’s in February, 2022. En francais aussi.
Learn more about Tannin Management here. Follow Matt on IG here.
