Darryl Beeson's mission in life is to dispel the myths and pomposity of wine. His "no secret handshakes" approach has endeared him with all those seeking to enjoy and better understand wine.

Over the past decade, as sommelier or cellar master of restaurants such as The Mansion on Turtle Creek and the Adolphus Hotel's French Room, Beeson helped garner awards such as the Wine Spectator's Grand Award, Food & Wine Magazine's Best Wine List Award, and nomination for The James Beard Foundation's Award For Best Restaurant Wine Service.

Beeson, an international-level wine judge, not only tastes professionally, but also is a writer and reporter on the subject. He files wine reports for Denver's "Gabby Gourmet Show" for KHOW/CBS Radio and San Francisco's KGO/ABC Radio, and is a syndicated columnist. Though a Texas native, he is the "farthest flung" member of Cambridge University's Wine Society. He is the American wine editor for the UK based wineontheweb.com.

In a quest to further the finest in food and fermentation, Beeson has been active at Food & Wine Magazine's yearly gathering in Aspen, The Masters of Food and Wine in Carmel,the Sommelier Summit, as well as the World Vinifera Conference. In recent months, his wine and dining insights have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Detroit News, as well as Smart Money and InStyle magazines.

Beeson was recently inducted into Moet's saber society, composed of less than 30 wine-focused "foodies" nationally, including Julia Child and Drew Nieporent.

"The challenge was not the task of chopping off the top of a magnum of Champagne with a three-foot long Napoleonic sword in the induction ceremony." says Darryl, "The real challenge was later getting that same sword through airport security!"

PS .. If you would like to correspond with Darryl you may do so via email at dbwineguy@netscape.netIf you do, please let him know you saw his articles here on Strat's Place - Art and Betsy