Chip began Burnet Ridge Winery, named after the street where he grew up in Northern Kentucky, to make quality wine for himself and his friends and family. This small Old-World style of winery was never intended to be a commercial operation but one of personal enjoyment. Working as safety engineer for the state of Kentucky during the day and researching and experimenting with wine at night, Chip perfected his wines. Chip would often show up at local wine tastings with his hand-crafted artisan wines and share them with local wine advocates. When people asked Chip where he purchased his wine he would humbly say, “I make this in my garage.” In 1993 Chip, with the help of his friend Steve Dietrich, began Burnet Ridge, Inc. as commercial winery which has been producing high-quality fine wines ever since.