Powerful, meticulously crafted wines are Wolf Blass’s specialty, from everyday drops to some of Australia’s most prestigious, age-worthy wines.
Wolfgang Franz Otto Blass was born in Germany in 1934. After Wolf ran away from school, his parents gave him an ultimatum: start a 3-year winemaking apprenticeship or get back to class. And so began a journey which changed the winemaking world.
When Chris Hatcher arrived at Wolf Blass to take up a position as winemaker, he expected to stick around for four, maybe five years. Already a white wine and sparkling specialist, he figured he’d stay just long enough to pick up some pointers on how to make great reds, and then be on his way.
It might not sound so revolutionary today, but Wolf’s introduction of a coloured tier was ground-breaking at the time. His first wine labels in Australia were yellow with brown text, a decision made to help distinguish his wines from the (mostly white-labelled) imports.