MICHAEL TWELFTREE – PROPRIETOR & MANAGING DIRECTOR
Michael came to the wine industry from a construction background after developing his passion over many years attending wine tastings and founded Two Hands Wines in 1999. Michael has a well-known love for all wine and he spends many weeks a year travelling to taste some of the greatest wines from the most revered wine regions of the globe, adding to his personal (and impressive) cellar along the way. From day one, Michael’s role has been multifaceted being involved in the day to day running of Two Hands from vineyard management through to winemaking and production. With a flair for marketing and creativity, Michael is always injecting fresh ideas and constantly nutting out new ways to keep the brand evolving.
PIERRE-HENRI MOREL – PROPRIETOR & GENERAL MANAGER
Pierre-Henri has a true passion for food, wine and the great terroirs of the world, from his native Rhone Valley all the way to the Barossa Valley. After 13 years at M. Chapoutier in Ermitage, he joined Two Hands Wines in early 2014 as Sales & Marketing Director before being promoted to the role of General manager role in 2017. Pierre-Henri works closely with Michael to oversee all areas of Two Hands’ operation, whilst remaining the main point of contact for sales and distributions.
RICHARD LANGFORD – CHIEF WINEMAKER
2018 Barossa Winemaker of the Year! Richard joined Two Hands in July 2019 and came with high praise from many present and past Barossa Winemakers. He has worked in the Barossa, Rutherglen, Hunter Valley, Mudgee and the South of France. Richard has a proven ability to work with viticulturists to ensure that quality begins and occurs in the vineyard. When not in the winery, you can find him enjoying the spoils of the great outdoors – fishing, bushwalking & camping with friends and family.
PETER RAYMOND – VITICULTURE MANAGER
Peter joined the wine industry in 1997 after studying a Bachelor of Applied Science in Viticulture at CSU Wagga Wagga. He moved to the Barossa in 1999 and spent years on the ground working in some of the Barossa’s best vineyards and establishing new vineyards in Clare and the Barossa. He has previously worked for Brown Brother’s in Victoria as grape supply manager, has been a lecturer for TafeSA in viticulture, owned his own consulting business, and recently before joining our team was Viticultural Manager for Accolade Wines in the Barossa.
LUKE WILLIS – DTC MANAGER
Luke is originally from Tassie and began his journey in the wine industry with Moorilla Estate in 1997. He lived and worked in Japan for about 3 years before coming back to Aus and moving to Barossa in 2005 with Rockford Wines after completing Bachelor Wine Marketing. He is father of two teenage daughters who he claims are much smarter than him and husband to a patient wife. He spend his weekends playing guitar and listening to loud, heavy music. With his best memory, hanging out with Metallica and giving them some great Barossa wine, of course.
SPENCER CLOSE – PRODUCTION MANAGER
Spencer was born in Adelaide where his parents own a print company, explaining the keen eye he has when it comes to labels and production. He has previously worked in dental in the Barossa for about 6 years and got the ‘call of the vine’ becoming wine obsessed. From here he started a small family winery in Houghton Adelaide Hills with an uncle & took a vintage winemaker role with Two Hands for vintage 2022 before changing to Production Manager.
ANTHONY EVANS – CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Anthony came to Two Hands Wines as the Chief Financial Officer in early 2017. Although new to the Wine Industry, Anthony brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in accounting across a variety of industries. A devoted father of two children, Anthony is ambidextrous and a mad Adelaide 36ers supporter, and most weekends you can find him by the basketball court cheering on his kids!
KENNEDY SIMPSON – ASSISTANT WINEMAKER
Kennedy completed his winemaking degree at Charles Sturt University, and has worked for fine wine retailer East End Cellars and Adelaide Hills winery Shaw and Smith. His Love for Barossa wines has brought him to Team Two Hands. In his home life, he is kept in line by his two daughters Grace and Audrey, whilst also on the constant lookout for new ways to perfect his pizza-making game.
KEVIN ECKERT – Assistant Accountant
New to the wine industry but heavily experienced in accounting, Kevin joined Two Hands in July 2016. From the engineering and recruitment accounting fields, Kevin wanted to further challenge himself whilst becoming involved in the lifestyle of the Barossa Valley. Kevin prides himself on his sense of humour and always brings a laugh to the workplace.
JULIE ELVERD – FINANCE OFFICER
Julie grew up in Williamstown, and has lived close to Barossa region ever since. She currently lives on a 2.5 acre property at Cockatoo Valley amongst the gum trees with her husband. She has worked in finance for over 35 years in all kinds of industries; light manufacturing, food manufacturing/processing, retail & wine to name a few. Noting that when she started her career, the technology of the time was Telex Machines, DOS and 9 inch floppy disks (and they were actually floppy!). On her days off you can find her spending time with her two sons, reading, camping, watching some Aussie movies & travelling where possible.
IRENE IULIANI – SALES ADMINISTRATOR
Born and raised in an Italian family in the South East region of South Australia, Irene has always understood the importance of good food and wine. This upbringing played an integral role in Irene starting a career in the wine industry, which has spanned 22 years prior to her joining the team at Two Hands. In addition to her time in Coonawarra, Irene has also enjoyed working across several famous wine regions, including Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills and the Barossa Valley. Outside of the office, Irene can be found laughing with friends and family over a nice glass of wine and a platter of some locally sourced food.
MORGAN DUNEMANN – DTC MARKETING MANAGER
Morgan is a country SA native, growing up in the spectacular Flinders Ranges. She’s studied Media and Communications with a specialisation in travel and tourism. She is our resident green thumb and specialist in succulents having a large collection that almost equals her vast collection of vinyl records. Morgan is also an avid royal watcher and is an expert in all things QEII and wishes Harry Styles was her neighbour. Morgan’s attention to detail and friendly and quirky personality keeps the Two Hands team always entertained and on our toes.
BRAD SAEGY – DIGITAL CONTENT CREATOR
A new member of the team in 2022, but a long time coming as he was stuck in ISO in Melbourne for a long time before we could get him back to Barossa! Brad is Barossa-Born and bred, with family roots going back to some of the earliest settlers in Barossa. He’s a whiz with all things digital and creates many of the beautiful photographs and videos that you see on our website and social media channels. His dry wit, talent and cake baking skills are a welcome addition to the Two Hands team.
MITCH BARNES – CELLAR DOOR MANAGER
Mitch, originally from sunny Queensland, discovered wine on a visit to Barossa Valley. Upon returning to his home state, he threw away another career to immerse himself in the wine industry. He’s honed his passion for the industry as a Sales Rep & Bar Manager in Queensland, and since moving to Barossa, he’s worked in some of Barossa’s best wineries in sales, Cellar Doors and during vintage before joining Two Hands in late 2021 as the integral face of our Cellar Door. When not welcoming and educating our guests on their visit to our home at Cellar Door or on Vineyard Tours, you can find him working on one of his vintage cars or hitting the road in one of the said cars to the outback or another wine region, enjoying good coffee, good food and great company!
RACHEL SKIPSEY – CELLAR DOOR AMBASSADOR
Rachel was born in Yorkshire, England & has travelled the world on a motorbike with her husband ‘Skip’. Rachel & Skip moved to the Barossa after a holiday in 2019 & loves the active community in her hometown Greenock. She joins the cellar door team backed by 30 years of experience in working in the travel and tourism industry. Some of her favourite international wine regions after all of her years of travelling include Argentina, Chile & North America.
JOHN ROESLER AND ALEX WATT – Viticulture TEAM
Working closely with Peter in our estate vineyards, are the wonderful John and Alex. They are the diligent and quiet achievers of the Two Hands team, John and Alex brave extreme temperatures to keep our vineyards in tip-top shape. Both John and Alex have their own vineyards so can be found tending to them when not in ours. John is passionate about the local footy and cricket competition and Alex is a proud family man, is a keen beekeeper and supplies the feed for Brutus the Bull and his family.
DAVE RUSHTON – CELLAR HAND
Dave, originally from Queensland, is our resident muso – he originally started as a sound engineer and studied Pop Music at the University of Queensland. His passion for wine got the better of him and he started his own wine blog to share his wine experiences . He moved to Barossa with his wife and two gorgeous daughters and joined the Two Hands winery team in 2016.
BRUTUS & FAMILY – Guardians of the Holy Grail
Our Scottish Highlander Cattle guarding the Holy Grail vineyard on Seppeltsfield Road. A family affair, including both mum and dad, these cows love to meet guests who are joining Two Hands on our Vineyard Experience tours. Growing up as a young boy MT states “I lived for new ‘Asterix’ cartoons, so when my Bull arrived on that fateful day I named him Brutus”. Learn more HERE
OLLIE – FOUR LEGGED FRIEND
Ollie is an integral part of the Two Hands family. His antics around the winery, cellar door & office space boosts team moral, whilst also directly assisting our production being the right hand of our Chief Winemaker Richard. Shout out to his other doggo friends sometimes seen at the Marananga home base, Choco the chocolate Lab of our GM Pierre & Ziggy the Dachshund of MT.
Quinn – FOUR LEGGED FRIEND
Quinn is our newest & cutest pup at Two Hands, little sis to big brother Ollie! She spends her days busy at our Marananga winery learning the ropes for her first vintage in 2023. Making sure to take naps under desks every chance she gets.
CHOCO – AMI À QUATRE PATTES
Choco est le nouveau membre de l’équipe Two Hands Doggos, le plus mignon labrador chocolat. On le voit plus souvent à Two Hands pendant les vacances scolaires lorsqu’il vient travailler avec la famille Morel. Tout le monde sait quand Choco arrive, car vous pouvez l’entendre de toutes les pièces du bureau car son énergie de chiot ne correspond pas encore à sa taille, quand il s’affaire dans les escaliers et commence à vérifier avec tout le monde pour voir si quelqu’un a des collations ou des friandises.
Choco only responds to French, which can become a challenge to those non-French speaking staff!
ZIGGY – FOUR LEGGED FRIEND
Ziggy! aka ‘Big Boy Bopperbooey’ is one of our newest cellar door ambassadors. Beloved 2-year-old standard Dachshund of MT and Melissa. He will greet you with his famous swagger and once he warms up will let you stroke his velvety ears. He is mainly concerned with assisting his mum at cellar door making sure he doesn’t miss a beat, or looking around for any food that may fall into his mouth, cheese is his favourite. Keep an eye out over the coming months, as you might just find his face on a new wine label.
