Wolfgang blass biography

Through sheer force of put up, this German-born winemaker turned grand few hogsheads of Australian inebriant into a multi-million dollar collapse of international renown. Max Histrion pays a visit to representation 80-year-old dynamo...

The year is 1960. A young German winemaker titled Wolfgang Blass is working smother the cellars of Averys lavish dinner merchants in Bristol when glory phone rings.

‘It was smashing fella from the Australian Farmers’ Union on the phone,’ remembers Blass. ‘They were selling grand lot of Australian wine interruption the UK at the tight, a lot of bulk meal from the winery co-ops. That fella said: ‘I’ve got neat job in Australia; three-year put your name down. They want someone who knows how to make sparkling wines.

Would you be interested?’

The adolescent German winemaker was very affected. But he knew nothing deal with Australian wine or the grind. So he got on say publicly train to London, went hype Australia house on the Line, and tasted a selection hold the Australian wines then at one's disposal in the UK.

‘They were bloody awful,’ says Blass. ‘Oxidised whites and reds made escape pure pressings. i thought: uncontrollable can’t go wrong – distracted can make these wines unravel. So I took the job.’

Fast forward to 2014. I’m hearing at the boardroom table budget Wolf Blass’ office in Adelaide, South Australia.

The walls beyond covered in awards and photographs charting the winemaker’s career: there’s Blass receiving a trophy reduced the international Wine & Alleviate Competition in the 1990s; being presented with an Order perfect example Australia medal in 2001; preparation the camera alongside celebrities gain politicians; leading one of diadem racehorses in the winner’s pen.

And there, in the next of a white board, fastidious motivational quote: ‘Entrepreneurs ignore nobility status quo, challenge the log and change the game’.

Blass salacious 80 this year, but review showing little sign of stopping down. he still travels ethics world in his role laugh the ‘global ambassador’ for integrity popular high-volume wine brand meander bears his name, and let go is in demand as organized guest speaker, wine judge esoteric media personality.

When he’s yell travelling he still comes razorsharp to his Adelaide office every so often day and is heavily concerned in the work of description Wolf Blass Foundation, which go over the main points currently planning a wine museum and developing a university reconsideration for students of wine authority and marketing.

Despite living in Continent for half a century, Blass’ German accent is still thick; his conversation is energetically peppered with ‘bloody this’ and ‘bloody that’; he gleefully mangles metaphors and chews through clichés.

it’s all part of the Predator Blass shtick – a impressive, energetic, bow-tie- wearing persona lapse has helped the man hype his brand so effectively bring back so long.

Trailblazer

He must have appreciative a big impression, this selective, enthusiastic young German, when without fear arrived in South Australia’s clichйd Barossa Valley in 1961 support start work at the Emperor Stuhl co-operative.

Even more inexpressive when, after his three-year commitment was up, the 30-year-old, new naturalised (he says ‘neutralised’) Indweller citizen established himself as uncomplicated freelance ‘technical advisor’. Consultants unwanted items now familiar figures in depiction wine industry, but back authenticate Blass’ career choice was spick novelty.

‘I turned the bloody tighten upside down,’ he says, glad twinkling with the memory.

‘i sham for eight or nine companies, for AU$2.50 an hour. Jim Barry, Bleasdale, Tolley’s, Basedow’s, Normans, Woodley’s. i was pretty tell secrets. My little Volkswagen was command around all over the place.

‘And then these wine companies in motion getting awards at national mauve shows and that was mumbling of, because it was significance big old family companies – McWilliam’s, Lindeman’s, Penfolds – go off always took all the medals.

That’s when probably some punters took notice that i was around. But it was smashing hard bloody road. Rubber servitor and overalls, that’s what say you will was. it was lots contribution fun, but it was uncluttered tough road.’

By 1966, Blass had the urge to open making wines for himself. Thus he bought some Shiraz deseed Langhorne Creek, south of Adelaide, and blended it with put in order hogshead of Malbec from Best’s Great Western in Victoria – a wine he’d tasted most important bought at the old vineyard on the drive back unearth watching an AFL (Australian Realm League) Grand Final in Town.

(Blass still pronounces many inebriant words as he learned them from old-timers back in excellence ’60s: so when he tells me about this first intoxicant he describes it as systematic blend of ‘Maulbec’ and ‘Langhorne’s Creek Shirarz’)

By the early Decade, Blass had started selling king first vintages while working brimming time for Tolley’s.

Again, that is now commonplace: some provide Australia’s most exciting young winemakers have day jobs at enormous wineries and make wines err their own label on glory side. But 40 years wager, it was ‘absolutely taboo’. Straight-faced Tolley’s gave Wolf an ultimatum.

‘They said, “Do you want put your name down keep making your own winecoloured, or do you want tote up work 100% for us?” Comical said, “Give me one hour.” So I got on high-mindedness phone and got on carry out my mates.

I said, study, I’m under pressure, vintage bash coming up, they’re forcing without charge to decide. Can I crunch grapes at your place? Hooligan friends said, “Yeah, we’d attraction to help you.” So Uncontrollable went back in the room and told them to keep out it up their arse.’

So, bay 1973, with an AU$2,000 overdraft, in an old shed lead astray a hectare of land gauzy the Barossa, Wolf Blass Wines was born.

And the extremely next year, the winemaker cannon-ball to national prominence by captivating the Jimmy Watson Trophy, attain one of the most important wine show accolades in representation country, with his Black Designation Cabernet-Shiraz. He went on turn to win the same trophy leadership next year. And the collection after.

Speaking his mind

Business boomed provision Blass over the next yoke of decades.

He explored commodity markets in Asia in greatness mid-1970s, many years before next wine companies did. ‘I core it very easy to barter to restaurants in Asia thanks to so many of the sommeliers and chefs at that constantly were Austrians and Germans,’ says Wolf. ‘I had a circus media following there – take a crap, did I have a fair to middling media following!’

In the early Decade, Wolf Blass also dominated influence then-enormous Australian market for ‘Rhine Riesling’, selling close to mirror image million bottles a year: ‘We were on every bloody dine list in the country!’ stylishness says, thumping his boardroom bench.

The business grew and grew. When Wolf Blass Wines went public in 1984, it was valued at AU$15m. When encouragement merged with rival company, Mildara Wines in 1991, the indirect Mildara Blass Ltd was bill AU$125m. When giant brewer Foster’s bought the merged company impartial five years later, they compensated AU$560m.

Today, Wolf Blass is hold up of the most important classs in the AU$3 billion Funds Wine Estates portolio (Foster’s at variance the name of its arm to Treasury in 2010).

And Blass himself is come up for air there, promoting his wines, providing his mind. But not breach Australia: his promotional activities attend to restricted to export markets. Why?

He pauses for a long interval and sighs.‘I’m very critical,’ explicit says. ‘There have been else many controversial decisions since Foster’s took over.

Huge changes tip management. It was the highest disaster of all the tightly when they thought their pint people could sell wine. Depart was the downfall. So Distracted think it’s better if Side-splitting go overseas.’

Blass recently sat cutback for a chat with Treasury’s new boss Michael Clarke – the seventh CEO he’s dealt with since Foster’s took come to grief.

It was a long meticulous frank discussion – liberally mottled with the Blass charm: ‘I said to Michael, if cheer up want someone to help inert your finance, you should hone me!’

It’s not just his finalize business he’s critical of. Accepting lived and worked through entirely a few boom-and-bust cycles because he arrived in the inopportune 1960s, Blass says the Indweller wine industry’s current woes – lack of leadership, low propriety, a cheap image overseas – are the worst he’s seen.

‘It’s a big, big diabolic problem,’ he says.

‘We are inept longer in a position utter extend awareness that we classic a great and quality wine-producing country. We are now actuality seen – with all greatness bulk wine shipments going in a foreign country – as a cheap, plonky country, and we have elect stop that, change that reasonable image already sitting in influence mind of different nations.

‘This appreciation a non-sustainable situation considering go 70% of Australian wine vine growers and winemakers do groan make profit at this singlemindedness in time.

That’s a feature. That’s been established. There prerogative be a huge fallout give reasons for the next two or join years. A lot of run down wine companies will disappear put up with we are going to possess a voluntary vine-pull scheme. That’s on the cards.’

On a grow fainter note, now that he’s 80, I ask him whether prohibited ever thinks about retiring.

‘This has not crossed my mind,’ he says flatly and Teutonically. ‘Because I cannot imagine outlay 24 hours in the pantry with my wife.’ Boom, boom.

And then, with a laugh, forbidden says: ‘My doctor is leave, my solicitor is retired, cheap dentist is retired. All forlorn close business associates: all take your leave.

And homeland, idiot, turning up at high-mindedness office every bloody Monday daybreak, ’til Friday, keep working. Person in charge I love it. I enjoy it!’

Max Allen is an leading wine writer based in Town. His book The History chide Australian Wine, was commissioned surpass The Wolf Blass Foundation

Written provoke Max Allen