After a college sports injury Matt Whitney swapped out his hockey sticks for beverage hospitality and traded in his ice skates for sommelier certifications. With a promotion to Wine Director at Eastern Standard and an upcoming Advanced Sommelier examination at the Court of Master Sommeliers, Whitney continues to expand his wine boundaries (and his wine lists). Below, he reflects on a fridge full of Riesling and when he first felt the Loire (get it?) of the wine life.

What got you interested in wine? What’s been your wine journey up to this point?

It kind of starts with my mom. She was in the restaurant industry and I was going to play junior hockey before I went to college. I was moving into my own apartment and I needed a little bit of coin, so she got me a bartending gig. Fast forward about six years, I was playing hockey in college and got hurt and had to stop playing. I was bored out of my mind and just wanted to make a little cash. To be honest, I just wanted to kind of swing Bud Lights and maybe watch the Bruins game in the background and get through school with a part-time gig. I ended up at Alta Strada in Wellesley. That’s really where I got into wine.

What struck you about it? What changed your drinking habits?

At Alta Strada, I worked for some really great management who took me under their wing and really taught me how to provide an experience for a guest. That’s what drew me in. I loved being able to talk about food pairings and about regions and producers and the history – and really connect that all back to the dining experience.

How would you characterize the Eastern Standard wine program?

I loved the program as a guest long before I started working here. It’s pretty approachable. I think that I’m lucky to inherit a list that has some great balance, in the sense that you can come in here and get a classic producer of a classic region at an affordable price. If you want to go up in what you’re willing to spend, you can get a really sick wine for far less than you would anywhere else. But then also if you want to come in here on a Monday night and spend 35 bucks on bottle or two and have a burger, that’s available, too. There’s a wide range of styles and price points.

Are there any wine areas you’re excited to explore?

We’ve always had a big focus on Beaujolais – we call it the E.S. wine of choice – and I’m going to focus on expanding that. A mix of vintages and producers and lesser knowns and classics, that’s really going to be a big focal point of a revamped wine list that is in the works.

What are you drinking right now?

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for Riesling. If you open my fridge, it’s probably German and Austrian Riesling and Budweiser. Really like two options there.

What’s your favorite part of working in the wine program?

It’s that guest experience. One thing that I think we’re lucky to have the tools to do here is connecting with a guest over a certain product and for me that’s wine. Whether that’s delivering something that they really love or introducing them to something completely new or to a new food pairing—that’s always really exciting to me. And I would say a very, very close second is staff education, from someone who’s new to the restaurant all the way up to our senior staff. That’s pretty rewarding when they go on to achieve their own certifications within wine or maybe land in someone else’s program in a great role or you see a new guy jump on the floor and sell a pretty sick bottle and get pretty excited about it.

What was the Certified Sommeliers exam like?

After Craigie on Main I kind of bounced around and I was always managing bar programs where the focus was more on cocktails or beer. Wine’s always been the passion so I decided that I wanted to go through the Court certifications. It was definitely a bit of a challenge starting at a new restaurant [Eastern Standard], especially with the volume that we do here, and also studying for the exam but it was a lot of fun and it was also a great place to help me learn with a ton of resources and a ton of support. I was able to expose myself to bottles and wines and producers that I would have otherwise not had access to.

What does the next level – the Advanced Sommelier exam – entail?

It’s three parts, the same format as the Master level which is the top certification. There’s a service practical, a written theory exam and then finally there’s a blind tasting of six wines in 25 minutes.

How are you prepping? Are you drinking a lot of wine?

I tend to say tasting a lot more wine, but let’s be honest, yes, drinking a lot of wine. I’m taking some time on my own for theory study, which probably takes the biggest chunk of time. I host a weekly blind tasting group for other sommeliers and restaurant professionals here every week that are studying for exams. I’m trying to take any extra time I have to sit down with a bottle and taste through it and learn about the style and the region, crunching flash cards and whatnot. It definitely helps that what I’m studying for I also do for a living.