All Team Members

James Hastwell is the chief winemaker at Hastwell and Lightfoot Winery which he inherited from his forefathers. He began to participate in the wine making process at the young age of 6 with his father and grandfather. As a young winemaker James showed his prowess and exceptional talent for winemaking by continually innovating techniques which were passed on to him and quickly became a star within the region. He combines traditional and innovative wine making techniques to accentuate the natural conditions of the region in his wines and as such has been a regular winner of major wine competitions at a young age.

The chief winemaker at Depallas is Mark Cooper, a veteran winemaker with 17 years of experience most notably as a senior winemaker at Treasury Wine Estates, Mark worked closely with brands such as Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Wynns.  Mark’s role at Treasury Wine Estates has given him unique insight into customer and supplier relationships and an understanding of the different customer palate preferences in various global market，On top of this Mark founded the Barossa Valley winery Cooper and Burns alongside Russell.

The founder of the Australian Depallas Wine Group, graduated from the University of Adelaide with his master’s degree. He has studied wine brewing and marketing knowledge in Australia and Europe and has always been keenly aware of the development of the New World wine industry. He is now devoting all of his energy on branding and team construction.

The CEO of Depallas Wine Group is Russell burns. Russell has 16 years of experience in wine making and wine brand management. He has been directly responsible for brand operations and the production line since 2016. Russell gained vast experience making world-class ultra-premium famous wines including The Laird & RunRig – both wines receiving 100 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate on multiple occasions. On top of this Russell founded the Barossa Valley winery Cooper and Burns alongside Mark.