WINEMAG.COM | 534O under 4O I 2019
Matthew Kaner, 36
Cofounder/Wine Director/Co-Owner, Bar Covell
Cofounder/Wine Director, Solovin Wine Club • Los Angeles
Cofounder/Wine Director/Co-Owner, Augustine Wine Bar
Sherman Oaks, CA
Setting the wine bar
Kaner never planned a career in wine. All he really wanted was to be able to
afford a few bottles of it, but his quest for extra cash drew him deeper into the
hospitality industry. In 2010, Kaner opened Bar Covell with bartender-turned-
restaurateur Dustin Lancaster and nixed the bottle list in lieu of conversation-
and education-based service. What resulted was a fl ood of success, followed
by a series of similarly outstanding ventures: vintage-focused Augustine Wine
Bar opened in 2015, wine-centric restaurant Good Measure two years later, and
Solovin Wine Club launched this spring.