LAKE BLUFF, Ill., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Pulling back the curtain on
their quest to create one of the world's great wineries, Two Hands Wines today
introduced a series of unique short videos shot during the 2008 harvest in
Australia.
Two Hands has never been your typical winery, and the videos follow suit.
Unrehearsed and informal, they take viewers to the six regions that are the
basis for the winery's peerless Garden Series Shiraz program; show the
rigorous barrel trials conducted to classify the Two Hands wines; and even
match Two Hands' bottlings against the world's best wines in comparative
tastings conducted by co-founder Michael Twelftree.
"We had no script, no scenes and, really, no idea," Twelftree said with a
laugh. "But thank goodness we had my mate Don Brice, a professional
photographer who has been with Two Hands from day one. We talked on the way to
each vineyard about what might be good to shoot, went out and did our thing,
and Don worked his magic."
In the Barossa, Twelftree and Two Hands winemaker Matt Wenk walk the
vineyards as record heat pushes the grapes to ripeness. In far-flung
Heathcote, Twelftree -- atop a whirring harvester -- explains the benefits of
mechanically picked fruit. Back at the winery, co-founder Richard Mintz speaks
to the challenges Mother Nature throws at the Two Hands team during vintage
(that's Aussie for harvest, mate).
Mintz said the videos will appeal to wine geeks and newbies alike. "We
wanted to make some films that capture who we are, what we do in the vineyards
and what our winemaking is really like," Mintz said. "From the beginning,
Michael and I have thought winemaking was a fairly simple process and we
wanted to get that across in layman's terms."
Mintz and Twelftree have also never been shy about their intention of
building one of the great wineries in the world. "It's a lofty goal, and who
knows, it might not be attainable," Mintz said. "But it's what drives us." In
the videos, that eagerness to play on a world stage is captured as Twelftree
tastes Two Hands wines with the best from Australia and beyond.
For example, in the episode "2005 Vintage Shiraz of the World Tasting,"
Twelftree sniffs, sips and spits the Two Hands Bella's Garden Shiraz alongside
Craggy Range from New Zealand and Domaine Bernard Faurie of Hermitage. In
another episode, Twelftree tastes McLaren Vale wines -- including the Two
Hands Lily's Garden Shiraz -- on the beach from the back of a pickup truck,
making the point that McLaren Vale vineyards are greatly influenced by their
proximity to the nearby sea.
"When we started Two Hands, we tasted all the best wines of Australia and
the world, and that helped us to form our style. So we like to benchmark
against what are perceived to be the best wines," Twelftree said. "In wine
there is no finishing line, but it's great to see who else is on the starting
block."
Two Hands' ascent as a world-class winery came during an era in which
Australia became known for large-production, value-priced wines. Boldly going
in an entirely different direction, the winery built its reputation by
producing uniquely interesting Shiraz. The winery's celebrated Garden Series
comprises Shiraz from Barossa Valley (Bella's), McLaren Vale (Lily's), Clare
Valley (Samantha's), Padthaway (Sophie's), Langhorne Creek (Harry & Edward's)
and Heathcote (Max's). All those regions are explored in the new videos.
In addition, Two Hands produces the Picture Series, featuring perhaps its
most approachable Australian wines, as well as the new Single Vineyard Series,
exceptional wines from specific vineyards that demonstrate personality and
complexity particular to their origins. The Flagships -- a Shiraz, a Cabernet
Sauvignon and a Grenache -- are produced in extremely small quantities drawn
from the very best barrels in excellent vintages. Their mythological names
-- Ares, Aphrodite and Aerope -- evoke greatness and immortality. Finally, the
winery recently introduced Two Hands Napa, featuring Cabernet Sauvignon from
the region.
Terlato Wines International has a global portfolio of 50 brands from a
host of world-class wine producers and presently markets more than one out of
eight bottles of wine over $14 sold in America. Terlato, with more 90+ ratings
than any wine company in the world, is the flagship company of the Terlato
Wine Group, the parent company of several independent businesses specializing
in the marketing and production of exceptional wines. Owned and operated by
the Terlato family, the Group also includes the family's winery investments
and partnerships in some of the world's most esteemed wine regions, including:
Napa Valley; Sonoma County; Santa Barbara County; Victoria, Australia; the
Rhone Valley in France; Somontano, Spain and Montalcino, Italy.
The Terlato Wines International portfolio of brands includes: Napa Valley:
Brandlin, Chimney Rock, Cuvaison Estate Wines, Luke Donald Collection, Markham
Vineyards, Rutherford Hill, Tangley Oaks, Terlato Family Vineyards and Two
Hands -- Napa Valley; Sonoma County: Alderbrook, Hanna, Rochioli and Terlato
Family Vineyards; Santa Barbara County: Sanford and Tangley Oaks; California
Appellation: Glass Mountain and Seven Daughters; Oregon: Sokol Blosser and
Argyle; Italy: Baglio di Pianetto, Ca' del Bosco, Ca' Marcanda (Gaja Toscana),
Florio Martinez Marsala, Gaja, Il Poggione, Kettmeir, MAZZONI (Toscana), Santa
Margherita, Tiramisu, Torresella and Distillatori Nonino (Grappa); France:
Champagne Bollinger, M. Chapoutier, Chateau des Laurets (Rothschild), Domaine
Chanson, Josmeyer, Langlois-Chateau and Mischief and Mayhem; Australia:
Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier, Domaine Tournon and Two Hands; Argentina:
Tamari; Canada: Peller Estates Icewine; Greece: Boutari; New Zealand: Wairau
River; South Africa: Cirrus, Guardian Peak, Engelbrecht-Els, Ernie Els
Signature and Rust En Vrede; Spain: Olvena; Switzerland: Xellent Swiss Vodka.;
Japan: Shimizu-No-Mai Sake.
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