After graduating from the University of Illinois with a BS in biology and then an MBA in international business and marketing, a chance visit to the Napa Valley captured his imagination. He soon had earned an MS in viticulture and enology from the University of California, Davis.
Chris then gained experience through a prestigious research internship at Tenute Antinori in Tuscany and further study at Università per Stranieri di Perugia as well as working as a harvest enologist at Domaine Carneros Winery and vineyard intern at Domain Chandon, both in the Napa Valley. These experiences led to the development of an old-world sensibility paired with a new world sense of ambition and insight.
Chris makes his home in Napa Valley with his wife and daughters, taking the pulse of a great winegrowing region with regular stints behind the planks at the Rutherford Grill.
