Kris began his involvement with the industry in South Carolina in 2004 at the Charleston Grill by restocking wines before service, and became close with the Wine Director, Rick Rubel, who was instrumental in both his growing love for wine and knowing the business behind it. He was then offered the chance to take classes with the Court of Master Sommeliers and in 2007 became certified. In 2010, after leaving South Carolina, Kris moved to Minneapolis with the aim of spending time back home before heading out to the east coast. Things didn’t work out that way as he met his wife Louisa in the first few months and decided to stay and get back into restaurants. He then found himself at Butcher and the Boar in the role of Dining Room Manager; after getting to work closely with Jack Riebel, he soon departed to work with Kim Bartmann as the GM of The Third Bird. The stint with Kim was cut short by surgery that required me to stay off my feet for three months (a bit hard to do while running a restaurant), so he took some time off to regroup and went back to work with Jack Riebel again a couple of months later, this time opening Il Foro. After a year at Fulton Brewing, he was asked to interview with Rootstock Wine Co, and worked there for years until making the move to his current home at New France.

He is a rabid Manchester United fan, has played the drums for almost 30 years, and has been sober for a little over five.