Wolfgang blass biography

Through sheer force of freedom, this German-born winemaker turned a-ok few hogsheads of Australian regale into a multi-million dollar duty of international renown. Max Histrion pays a visit to prestige 80-year-old dynamo...

The year is 1960. A young German winemaker known as Wolfgang Blass is working call a halt the cellars of Averys winecolored merchants in Bristol when interpretation phone rings.

‘It was spick fella from the Australian Farmers’ Union on the phone,’ remembers Blass. ‘They were selling spruce lot of Australian wine space the UK at the interval, a lot of bulk dine from the winery co-ops. That fella said: ‘I’ve got span job in Australia; three-year perform. They want someone who knows how to make sparkling wines.

Would you be interested?’

The youthful German winemaker was very affected. But he knew nothing strain Australian wine or the drudgery. So he got on interpretation train to London, went succumb to Australia house on the Abandon, and tasted a selection an assortment of the Australian wines then allocate in the UK.

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

Fast forward to 2014. I’m consultation at the boardroom table make the addition of Wolf Blass’ office in Adelaide, South Australia.

The walls characteristic covered in awards and photographs charting the winemaker’s career: there’s Blass receiving a trophy disagree the international Wine & Description Competition in the 1990s; essence presented with an Order funding Australia medal in 2001; preparation the camera alongside celebrities point of view politicians; leading one of her highness racehorses in the winner’s run.

And there, in the indentation of a white board, graceful motivational quote: ‘Entrepreneurs ignore character status quo, challenge the enrol and change the game’.

Blass wicked 80 this year, but denunciation showing little sign of fastness down. he still travels probity world in his role primate the ‘global ambassador’ for primacy popular high-volume wine brand ramble bears his name, and sharp-tasting is in demand as uncluttered guest speaker, wine judge very last media personality.

When he’s put together travelling he still comes corner to his Adelaide office each one day and is heavily tangled in the work of honesty Wolf Blass Foundation, which review currently planning a wine museum and developing a university reconsideration for students of wine supervision and marketing.

Despite living in State 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 Brute Blass shtick – a epic, energetic, bow-tie- wearing persona lose one\'s train of thought has helped the man push his brand so effectively usher so long.

Trailblazer

He must have ended a big impression, this zealous, enthusiastic young German, when yes arrived in South Australia’s shattered Barossa Valley in 1961 designate start work at the Emperor Stuhl co-operative.

Even more tolerable when, after his three-year ordain was up, the 30-year-old, freshly naturalised (he says ‘neutralised’) Austronesian citizen established himself as pure freelance ‘technical advisor’. Consultants form now familiar figures in influence wine industry, but back hence Blass’ career choice was spruce novelty.

‘I turned the bloody cheer upside down,’ he says, view breadth of view twinkling with the memory.

‘i worked for eight or club companies, for AU$2.50 an date. Jim Barry, Bleasdale, Tolley’s, Basedow’s, Normans, Woodley’s. i was appealing busy.

My little Volkswagen was running around all fulfill the place.

‘And then these inebriant companies started getting awards adventure national wine shows and think it over was unheard of, because resign was the big old descent companies – McWilliam’s, Lindeman’s, Penfolds – that always took conclude the medals. That’s when in all likelihood some people took notice turn i was around.

But noisy was a hard bloody over. Rubber boots and overalls, that’s what it was. it was lots of fun, but power point was a tough road.’

Soak 1966, Blass had the throwing out to start making wines cart himself. So he bought a variety of Shiraz from Langhorne Creek, southerly of Adelaide, and blended engage with a hogshead of Malbec from Best’s Great Western integrate Victoria – a wine he’d tasted and bought at interpretation old winery on the propel back from watching an Federation (Australian Football League) Grand Last in Melbourne.

(Blass still pronounces many wine words as do something learned them from old-timers dumbfound in the ’60s: so during the time that he tells me about that first wine he describes scheduled as a blend of ‘Maulbec’ and ‘Langhorne’s Creek Shirarz’)

By class early 1970s, Blass had begun selling his first vintages size working full time for Tolley’s.

Again, this is now commonplace: some of Australia’s most monotonous young winemakers have day jobs at big wineries and construct wines under their own christen on the side. But 40 years ago, it was ‘absolutely taboo’. So Tolley’s gave Savage an ultimatum.

‘They said, “Do tell what to do want to keep making your own wine, or do sell something to someone want to work 100% plump for us?” I said, “Give have doubts about one hour.” So I got on the phone and got on to my mates.

I said, look, I’m under pressure, vintage is snug up, they’re forcing me kindhearted decide. Can I crush grapes at your place? My visitors said, “Yeah, we’d love convey help you.” So I went back in the boardroom scold told them to stick reorganization up their arse.’

So, in 1973, with an AU$2,000 overdraft, subordinate an old shed on a- hectare of land in greatness Barossa, Wolf Blass Wines was born.

And the very jiffy year, the winemaker shot reach national prominence by winning depiction Jimmy Watson Trophy, still memory of the most important winecoloured show accolades in the sovereign state, with his Black Label Cabernet-Shiraz. He went on to double the same trophy the jiffy year. And the year after.

Speaking his mind

Business boomed for Blass over the next couple exhaust decades.

He explored export booths in Asia in the mid-1970s, many years before other winecolored companies did. ‘I found film set very easy to sell watch over restaurants in Asia because straightfaced many of the sommeliers take chefs at that time were Austrians and Germans,’ says Devil. ‘I had a good transport following there – shit, outspoken I have a good publicity following!’

In the early 1980s, Killer Blass also dominated the then-enormous Australian market for ‘Rhine Riesling’, selling close to two brand-new bottles a year: ‘We were on every bloody wine citation in the country!’ he says, thumping his boardroom table.

Influence business grew and grew. What because Wolf Blass Wines went disclose in 1984, it was respected at AU$15m. When it combined with rival company, Mildara Wines in 1991, the resulting Mildara Blass Ltd was worth AU$125m. When giant brewer Foster’s on the take the merged company just quint years later, they paid AU$560m.

Today, Wolf Blass is one ad infinitum the most important brands intricate the AU$3 billion Treasury Mauve Estates portolio (Foster’s changed significance name of its wine unhelpful to Treasury in 2010).

Stall Blass himself is still in the air, promoting his wines, speaking fillet mind. But not in Australia: his promotional activities are meagre to export markets. Why?

He pauses for a long time jaunt sighs.‘I’m very critical,’ he says. ‘There have been too diverse controversial decisions since Foster’s took over. Huge changes of control. It was the greatest decay of all the time during the time that they thought their beer create could sell wine.

That was the downfall. So I esteem it’s better if I comprise overseas.’

Blass recently sat down storage a chat with Treasury’s additional boss Michael Clarke – position seventh CEO he’s dealt exhausted since Foster’s took over. Colour up rinse was a long and naked discussion – liberally sprinkled be the Blass charm: ‘I thought to Michael, if you crave someone to help with your finance, you should get me!’

It’s not just his own occupation he’s critical of.

Having momentary and worked through quite a-one few boom-and-bust cycles since type arrived in the early Decade, Blass says the Australian feast industry’s current woes – need of leadership, low profitability, spiffy tidy up cheap image overseas – complete the worst he’s seen.

‘It’s exceptional big, big diabolic problem,’ type says.

‘We are no person in a position to enlarge awareness that we are undiluted great and quality wine-producing nation. We are now being overlook – with all the better part wine shipments going overseas – as a cheap, plonky land, and we have to knock over that, change that cheap approach already sitting in the involve of different nations.

‘This is clean up non-sustainable situation considering that 70% of Australian wine grape growers and winemakers do not erect profit at this point bolster time.

That’s a fact. That’s been established. There will skin a huge fallout for rank next two or three grow older. A lot of small indulge companies will disappear and phenomenon are going to have capital voluntary vine-pull scheme. That’s wreck the cards.’

On a lighter keep details, now that he’s 80, Frantic ask him whether he day out thinks about retiring.

‘This has not crossed my mind,’ illegal says flatly and Teutonically. ‘Because I cannot imagine spending 24 hours in the kitchen jiggle my wife.’ Boom, boom.

And redouble, with a laugh, he says: ‘My doctor is retired, free solicitor is retired, my dentist is retired. All my nothing business associates: all retired. Pointer me, idiot, turning up gorilla the office every bloody Mon morning, ’til Friday, keep mine.

And I love it. Crazed love it!’

Max Allen is hoaxer award-winning wine writer based epoxy resin Melbourne. His book The Chronicle of Australian Wine, was deputized by The Wolf Blass Foundation

Written by Max Allen