Wolf Blass AM
Winemaker - Wolfgang Franz Otto Blass arrived in Australia in 1961. Born in Germany, Wolfgang started working in the wine industry at a young age.
Wolfgang Franz Otto Blass arrived in Australia in 1961. Born in Germany, Wolfgang started working in the wine industry at a young age. After working in the champagne and sparkling wine industry in France, he was invited by Kaiser Stuhl wines from the Barossa Valley in South Australia, to come to Australia and bring his expertise to the Australian wine industry. After trying some Australian wines and deciding there was not a lot on offer, Wolfgang accepted the challenge and immigrated to Australia.
Wolfgang Blass had big ideas and was not afraid to question the way things were done. After working as a consultant for a number of different companies, he began to make his own wine on the side. Whereas previous red wine producers made heavy wines that needed a long time to age, Wolfgang offered young wines, ready to drink. He began entering competitions, around Australia and internationally, keen to get his name and his wine out into the world. His strong belief in competition is one of the defining characteristics of his business. ‘If you do not win, if you haven’t got the silverware and a box full of awards, nobody is going to take any notice of you.’
In 1973, Wolfgang Blass won the coveted Jimmy Watson Trophy for the best young red wine. He gained a reputation as a bold and outspoken winemaker, challenging the status quo and altering the industry. He recalls one pivotal moment at the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards. In front of a crowd of 500 expert winemakers and the media, he memorably declared: ‘My wines are sexy. They make strong women weak and weak men strong.’ It shook up the largely conservative wine industry and the media loved it. Soon everyone was drinking Wolf Blass wines.
Wolf Blass wines dominated the wine shows, winning the Jimmy Watson Trophy another three times, in 1975, 1976 and 1999. Looking back at his amazingly successful career, Wolfgang puts it all down to the competition:
The competition is the focal point and the benchmark where the wine industry is today. Without the Royal Show Societies, we wouldn’t be there.