If you really wonder what an innovative young winery can achieve, one of the few examples one could take lessons from is the Wolf Blass wines. In its relatively short period of existence as compared with some of the highly popular and established brands of wines, it has gone places in terms of international recognition it has attained over these 60 odd years.
The wines business was established in Australia in 1966 by an entrepreneur named Wolfgang Franz Otto Blass who was born in Germany in 1934. He moved to Australia in 1961 from Europe. Before moving to Australia, he learnt wine-making in France and wine-blending in London and then moved to Barossa Valley in Australia in 1961. A mere 5 years later, he established the Wolf Blass Wines as a brand. Glaetzer, of the Glaetzer wines fame, was the wine-maker behind the many accolades which Wolf Blass won both nationally and internationally.
In 1973, Wolf Blass made the first Wolf Blass Black Label which won the Jimmy Watson Trophy consecutively for three years in 1974, 1975 and 1976, and then again in 1999. With this initiation, there was no limit for its growth and the exports followed soon after. For a man who carried only GBP 400 when he landed in Australia, he founded Wolf Blass International after 12 years and made it into a public listed company in 1984. In 1996, Wolf Blass wines Australia merged with Mildara Wines, which in turn was taken over by Fosters for $560 million. In all these years since its inception the winery has won over 8500 awards.
The award-winning streak continues till now. More recently, it has won the InterVin International Award and the International Wine Challenge award in 2016. It has won the International Wine Challenge in 2008 and 2013 as well.
Aussie & Kiwi Wines and Wineries 