Jun. 182015Vintner Spotlight: Michael Twelftree, Co-founder of Two Hands Wines
Michael Twelftree will be a Featured Dinner Vintner at the 2016 Naples Winter Wine Festival!
Did you know our vintners come to us from all around the globe? And perhaps no one else has to travel quite as far as our Aussie friend, Michael Twelftree, who is Co-founder and Managing Director of Two Hands Wines in South Australia. We’re excited to welcome him back for the third time as a Featured Dinner Vintner at the 2016 Naples Winter Wine Festival. We knew you’d like to know more about him, so we sat down with Michael for a brief chat about his biggest accomplishment, his favorite thing to do every day in Naples, Florida, and much more.
What was your first job in the wine industry?
In 1997, I started an export company marketing Australian wines abroad, which led me to founding Two Hands Wines in the summer of 1999.
Have you ever participated in the Naples Winter Wine Festival?
Yes, this will be my third year with the Naples Winter Wine Festival and each year has brought along some great memories. I do love the Vintner Dinners they do every year, but I recall one particular sunset party on the beach during the first Festival I attended. It was on a perfect night and it was pretty wonderful.
If you could share a bottle of wine with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
The great early Napa Valley winemaker André Tchelistcheff, because he seemed to have the ability to touch everyone he met.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment is being the first winery in the world to make Wine Spectator’s Top 100 List for 10 consecutive years.
What is your preference, wine with food or wine on its own?
I really do enjoy savoring a glass of wine on its own. I enjoy the challenge of looking at all of its attributes without other smells, tastes or distractions.
What’s your favorite thing to do in Naples, Florida?
I love to play golf. I will head out most days to play at least nine holes.
What’s your go-to wine and what dish do you pair with it?
A mature, aged Red Burgundy from the Côte de Nuits region with smoked duck.
