Two Hands

Two Hands
The idea for Two Hands was born in September 1999 when founders Michael Twelftree and Richard Mintz sat at a friend’s engagement party and decided it was time to make their own wine and market it on the world stage.

The original aim was, and still is, to make the best possible Shiraz-based wines from prized growing regions throughout Australia.  Quality without compromise is central to the Two Hands philosophy, driving all the decisions from fruit and oak selection to packaging and promotion.

Two Hands’ first vintage was in 2000, after a modest $30k investment and starting with just 17 tons of fruit.  Early success helped Two Hands gradually increase production and venture out to launch the full Garden Series with the 2003 vintage.   Later that year, in the Western Ranges of the Barossa Valley, a rundown uninhabited cottage next to the Marananga Creek was spotted and transformed to become the home of Two Hands – Kraehe House.   

By the end of 2004 a state-of-the-art winery was built on the same site, specifically designed for small batch handling. To maximize the individual regional and varietal characteristics and to allow for greater quality control, every parcel of fruit, no matter how small, could be handled separately from crushing through to fermentation and oak maturation.  

Numerous accolades continued, including Robert Parker famously naming Two Hands “the finest negociant south of the equator’’.  In November 2012, Two Hands was named in the Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100 for the 10th consecutive year.

Two Hands Wines are certified under the Australian Wine Industry Standard of Sustainable Practice. Each year 540 bales of straw mulch are used under the vines to keep the soil temperature and surface roots cool as well as retain valuable moisture in the soil. The mulch also promotes earthworm and soil microbe activity in the soil. 

Today Two Hands is owned by Michael Twelftree, together with General Manager Pierre-Henri. With Michael and Pierre sharing an ambitious vision for the future, Two Hands next chapter in the journey is sure to be exciting.