Russell Wines

The man behind one of Australia's hottest new wineries, John Russell, had music on his mind when he first came to the Barossa, but it wasn't long until he was beating the winemaking drum. "When I first came to start the Barossa Music Festival in 1990, I fell in love with the region and its lifestyle and was inspired to become a grape grower and winemaker,'' Russell says.

But it hasn't always been easy - in fact, Russell was starting to thinking about giving the game away when James Halliday came across the Russell stable of wines and named the winery one of Australia's ten best new wineries in his 2009 Australian Wine Companion.

John and his wife Rosalind craft their rustic offerings from 32 hectares of vines planted at three vineyards - the "Augusta" garden of old vine Grenache and Shiraz, the elevated "St Vincent" in the village of Krondorf and "Greenock Farm", one of the oldest properties in the western Barossa region. These three vineyards are the inspiration for the Russells' three labels.

One of the Barossa's leading young gun winemakers, Shawn Kalleske, of Laughing Jack fame, oversees the winemaking process. Apart from winning over Aussie wine drinkers, the Russells have managed to crack the Swiss wine market - proving once again that premium Barossa fruit continues to produce wines that satisfy discerning palates around the world. - John Lehmann

                                                          John Russell