My 30+ year passion for wine, spirits and beer began with a part time job waiting tables while in college. By age 23 I was Maitre d’ and Sommelier at the renowned Restaurant Le Bistro in Cumberland, MD overseeing an award winning wine program. After relocating to Hilton Head Island, SC with wife Sherée and daughter Jocelyn, I joined The Ben Arnold Beverage Company of South Carolina as a Wine Sales Representative in 1989. I moved up the ranks of regional and statewide sales management positions in Hilton Head and Charleston, finally landing in Columbia, SC home of Ben Arnold’s corporate headquarters, as their Director of Training. In 2006 I joined the corporate staff of The Charmer Sunbelt Group, now Breakthru Beverage Group, to lead the development, implementation and maintenance of Wine & Spirit education and training programs for our sales force around the country. I have earned the Wine and Spirits Education Trust Level 4 Diploma in Wine & Spirits and completed their Educator Training Programme. I am accredited as a Certified Wine Educator and Certified Spirits Specialist by The Society of Wine Educators and past Chairperson of their Wine Education sub-committee. I am proudly accredited by L’Ecole du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) as a Certified Bordeaux Trade Tutor and by The Bourgognes Wine Board (BIVB) as an Official Bourgogne Wine Instructor