Our Story
I came to the Barossa in 1990 to establish the Barossa Music Festival. Though a wine imbiber, it was only when getting to know the Barossa and its great personalities I realized just what vinous treasures can be achieved with good fruit, good winemaking, and a passion for wine.
Needing a home, I purchased land at Krondorf to build a house on, but quickly realized that the beautiful rich red soil was too good to waste on a house! Instead I decided to plant what is now the St Vincent Vineyard. Peter Schultz from Turkey Flat designed and planted the vineyard, which in its maturity delivers top quality fruit every year.
This property had hives of bees dotted around it, plus wild bees in the giant old gums. These small insects are essential to natural germination of many of our important plants, so I decided to be their friend and adopt them as the symbol of Russell Wines.
I purchased a second property at Krondorf, one of the few remaining traditional sized hufendorf vineyards in the Barossa, only ninety meters wide but about over a kilometre long. It is home to 100 year old grenache vines along the Krondorf Creek, and I planted shiraz in the rich red soils in the north.
Needing a place to live I purchased Greenock Farm with its old farmhouse, old vines, old barns and numerous old sheds, and a wombat. Here I planted shiraz along the Greenock Creek, and began making wines from the ancient vines, such as ‘The Fenceline’ from the row of mixed varieties (in no apparent order) bordering the property.
In 2001 I decided to keep back a selection of the fruit and created a small run of what was to be the first vintage of Russell Wines. From then on, each year we have selected small parcels of the premium quality fruit to use under the Russell name. Where possible I believe it is important to let the vineyard tell its story and as a result, the wines are single vineyard and reflect the unique terroir of each area.