NIGEL HOPKINS

With the wine world mourning the passing of 95-year-old industry icon d’Arry Osborn, the inevitable question some were asking was, does this mean the brakes have now come off his colourful successor as head of d’Arenberg Winery, Chester?
And the answer to that is simple: the brakes have never really been on Chester, at least certainly not as far as winemaking is concerned for at least the last 20 years, and only barely through a somewhat conservative board when it came to major projects such as the nationally acclaimed d’Arenberg Cube. Although admittedly that took Chester a little longer to get through given that it cost $15m.
To reflect on this is also to remember that behind the lairy shirts and sometimes outrageous costumes, behind the colourful entrepreneur, there’s a very serious and highly-skilled winemaker combined with a marketing genius. And behind all that is the influence of a winemaking father, a conservative man who made wine in the most traditional way – including open wax-lined concrete fermenters, foot treading, basket pressing for both red and white wines.
In 1984, after studying winemaking at Roseworthy and a six-month tour of European wineries, Chester took over winemaking duties from his father as the fourth generation of Osborns to run the family business that started in 1912.
He not only continued his father’s traditions, he added new ones such as greatly broadening the number of grape varieties used to more than 40, grown either on d’Arenberg’s 200+ha of vineyards or sourced from more than 50 growers. And from 1996 he introduced a minimal input approach to viticulture that included dry growing, no fertilisation, no soil cultivation and no sprays: “That has transformed the vineyards and given us higher quality grapes,” he says.
It means now that Chester, he of the colourful shirts and wine industry showman, oversees production of 80 different wines (and counting) from 40 varieties (and counting), totalling around 220,000 dozen cases of wine annually.
Although he’s built a considerable team of winemakers, viticulturists and all the other people that make a large, successful winery possible, Chester is still very much in charge.
“I control the growers, the vineyards and our future strategy,” he says. “I control all the process including the red ferments and monitor them four times a day. We now have 200 five-tonne fermenters. And I taste every barrel, all 10,000 of them, and decide where they’re going to go in each of our 80 wines.
“I’ll do 150-200 barrels at a time, then bring in the winemakers and vineyard managers to discuss where they all fit, look at the quality levels. And although I’m still 100 per cent in control of the winemaking I involve our winemakers in all the decisions.”
Chester reveals that he has a whole new range of wines on the way this year: “There were growers in Langhorne Creek and Currency Creek who were having difficulty selling their 2022 crop, that I bought at a fair price. It will be a new entry level blend, though not from McLaren Vale, that will retail at $13-14 but probably end up in the marketplace just under $10.”
Stand by for a new lexicon of outrageous names, for which d’Arenberg has become famous: such as the $200 Athazagoraphobic (fear of forgetting) Cat, a blend of sagrantino and cinsault; or the $32 Anthropocene Epoch Mencia (a geologic unit of time). Thankfully all the names are explained on the d’Arenberg website, and it’s little wonder that many wine lovers still gravitate to comfortable favourites such as the Dead Arm Shiraz, the Footbolt Shiraz or the Custodian Grenache, wines on which d’Arry built his winery.
For 60-year-old Chester, it’s been quite a journey. He grew up with a distant, preoccupied father – “I often had dinner on my own” – who he began to know only when they developed a shared interest in fishing: “That’s when I got to know him and his gentle, relaxed nature.”
He started working in the vineyard and winery at the age of seven, picking grapes for 10c an hour: “I think I ate more grapes than I put in the bucket”. But when the following year he had a wage rise to 30c he decided he really ought to pay more attention to the business.
He recalls around the same time sitting on the lap of wine industry legend Len Evans, a close friend of his father and frequent visitor, who asked him what sort of wine he wanted to make: “A yummy one,” Chester replied. “So, I guess it was always my destiny from an early age.”
Chester admits to being a complex child, affected by Asberger Syndrome (as he still is), often ill, suffering from a speech impediment and very ordinary academic results: “I wanted to be a winemaker, but my headmaster said, ‘no hope’.” A move to Prince Alfred College helped transform this: “It changed my life, suddenly I had an education that worked for me.”
He was also very artistic in those early years, heavily into model planes and cars, and he became an avid reader of science magazines – all of which has somehow melded into his own artistic endeavours (he has some 100 of his sculptures in and around the Cube), but also the 14-year dream of the Cube itself, which was finally completed five years ago in 2017.
There’s more to come. Forget about putting brakes on Chester Osborn. There’s been the purchase of local distillery Settlers Spirits with plans for a new tasting room, and the new range of Langhorne Creek/Currency Creek wines already mentioned. There’s the exhibition of 25 of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali’s sculptures and the new Singapore Circus restaurant atop the Cube.
The success of the exclusive Sam Smith concert in January 2022, at the behest of Tourism SA, has revived early plans for an 8000-seat auditorium beside the Cube. During the pandemic he helped fill his days writing science fiction, which has grown into a book featuring the Cube’s design journey, music, poetry, even games that’s now being printed and will be out this year.
And as for those shirts, which of late he’s bought from New York, he’s about to produce his own unique designs using “interesting patterns” bought from Paris. The label: Twisted Beak, his nickname at school (starting as Muddle, then Twisted, then Twisted Beak. He’s not sure why). Not cheap at $300 to $1000.
But beyond all that, just as he’s become the fourth generation of Osborns to own and run d’Arenberg, there’s a fifth generation, his three daughters, in the wings awaiting their turn.
“They’re all studying winemaking and enjoying it,” Chester says. “They’re committed. And they all have good palates – I’ve been training them for years.”

CHARLES GENT

 

While the northern, Rhine-side regions of Austria with their rieslings and grüner veltliners command much of the critical attention from native, European and overseas wine lovers, exciting wines are being made at the other end of Austria’s wine country, drawing on a mix of grapes both obscure and familiar.
Styria, more properly styled Steiermark, is Austria’s southern-most winegrowing region. Sequestered by high mountains, and with its major city of Graz located 150 kilometres south of Vienna, it is not surprising that comparatively few of its wines are known beyond its own borders. But this all looks set to change.
Styria is located along Austria’s southern border with Slovenia and enjoys a very relaxed relationship with its neighbour; roads along the border weave in and out of the two nations, while cross-border commerce, including shopping, is commonplace.
Styria, with a population of 1.2 million, has just over 5,000 hectares under vine, and is made up of three parts: the subregions of Südsteiermark, Vulkanland Steiermark and Weststeiermark. Together they produce around 10 per cent of Austria’s wine, and some 75 per cent of Styria’s wine is white.
The origins of winegrowing in the area can ultimately be traced back to the Celts and Romans, but winemaking in Styria owes much of its modern vigour to the enlightened 19th century policies of Archduke Johann, who survived the early scandal of marrying a commoner (a post office worker) as well as the upheavals of Napoleonic occupation to become an enthusiastic promoter of both education and winemaking. He provided generous funding for wine research and founded a viticultural school in Styria.
While Steiermark is unquestionably more vertiginous than Austria’s other regions, its vines are grown in a variety of terroirs. Indeed, the southerly latitude and the benign climatic influence of the Pannonian plains induce what is called an Illyrian climate, with distinctly higher levels of precipitation than in Austria’s other wine-growing regions – having a considerable impact ont Styrian viticulture. At the same time, many vineyards have been traditionally cultivated in the foothills or on the lower slopes of mountains to avoid the frosts that stalk the valley floors. Geology is similarly mixed: the majority of vineyards lie on the sedimentary soils of the Styrian Basin, while most of the remainder are planted on stony alpine nappes. Most of the vineyards are between 400 and 600 metres above sea level, and with gradients frequently greater than 25 per cent, hand cultivation and picking becomes obligatory.
In terms of varieties, indigenous grapes share the billing with some better-known names; Welschriesling (as its green apple bouquet suggests, it is unrelated to riesling) accounts for 15 per cent of Styria’s total plantings, sauvignon blanc sits at 18 per cent overall, Weissburgunder (pinot blanc) at 14 per cent and chardonnay at eight. In the reds, Blauer Wildbacher has 10 per cent and Zweigelt 5 per cent.
Possessed of towering peaks (some volcanic), rolling green hills and sprawling forests, Styria’s landscapes are breathtaking even by Austrian postcard standards. To the south and east, the Styrian countryside is dotted with 800 winery-run taverns, a characteristically Austrian aspect of wine-selling. The taverns, permitted since an edict of the 1870s to sell their own produce tax-free, are known around Vienna as heuriger, but locally are called buschenschanken.

In Südsteiermark, one charming survival of the long winegrowing tradition is the Klapotetz or wind-rattle. These eight-bladed wooden windmills of centuries-old design are erected during the ripening season, when their clattering is intended to scare away the marauding flocks of starlings.
Grüner Veltliner, the grape which so heavily dominates Austrian wine production, plays only a miniscule role in Styria. And while the ancient and sturdy Welschriesling grape retains its lead in Styria’s production statistically, more international varieties such as traminer, pinot gris, chardonnay and, in particular, sauvignon blanc are on the march.
In terms of high-quality wine, sauvignon blanc (sometimes in the form of the youthful regional wine, sometimes aged, wooded and made in a style more akin to the wines of Sancerre) has made significant strides in Südsteiermark: already more than 25% of acreage and the wines are among the best worldwide, where it has nearly 10 per cent of the annual crush. Styrian sauvignon blancs from both Vulkanland and Südsteiermark are garnering growing numbers of fans world-wide for their freshness and elegance. Chardonnay from Südsteiermark, grown on limestone soils, is also prized for its intensity and high natural acidity. Surprisingly, both sauvignon blanc and chardonnay (locally known as Morillon) have been cultivated in Styria since the 19th century.
In the much smaller volumes of Weststeiermark, red wine grapes continue to dominate production, with the indigenous Blauer Wildbacher comprising nearly two-thirds of the crush. Admittedly, much of the variety’s crush is harnessed to the production by many makers of the legendary and lively Schilcher rosés.
In line with national reforms which have overhauled the Austrian wine industry in recent years, “Qualitätswein” from distinct terroirs has been designated, and all three Styrian subregions were awarded DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) appellation status in 2018. The regionally typical white wines – as well as Schilcher – are now classified into the three categories: Gebietswein (regional wine), Ortswein (“villages” wine) and the premium Riedenwein (single-vineyard wine) and are held back for release in accordance with their respective level of quality. The light ‘Junker’ wines, so beloved of the local populace, are still released for early drinking in the wine taverns.
There is a concerted move among Styria’s winemakers to focus on the creation of elegance and minerality in their wines and, as in the rest of the country, the precepts of organic, biodynamic and sustainable winemaking are also coming to the fore: more than 15 per cent of Austria’s total area under vine is already being cultivated organically. Styria also boasts a band of enthusiastic “natural” winemakers. And while there has been a slight shift towards a consolidation of vineyard and winery ownership in recent years, small-holdings, family ownership and an accent on artisanal scale production remain integral to the character of Styrian wines. It’s a legacy well worth investigating.

 

CHAMPAGNE CLUB by
RICHARD JUHLIN

Champagne’s history is rich with women full of character. Many of them have given names to the companies’ cuvée prestige versions. At Pommery it is the daughter of the widow Pommery; Jeanne-Alexandrine-Louise. It’s really fun to rediscover old love! Recently I had the opportunity to return to the beautiful Louise… in the 2005 vintage! A cuvée prestige that I drank a lot of during the mid & late 90’s, but with which I had lost touch. Pommery then appeared on many wine lists in Stockholm. When Swedish businessman Jan Stenbeck invited Stockholmers to a bubbly party at the millennium, Pommery was the obvious choice.

The History of Pommery

In 1856 Pommery & Greno was founded after having been known as Wibert-Greno for the previous twenty years. The firm established a sales channel to the English as early as mid- nineteenth century and were pioneers with their dry Champagne – quite without dosage. Madame Pommery was one of the first owners, and one of her direct descendants, Prince Alain de Polignac, was for a long time the man in charge of assembling the cuvées. Prince Alain is a fascinating man who, better than any other winemaker, can describe the philosophy behind his winemaking art. In 1990, Pommery became part of the Moët-Hennessy Group, and in 2002 Vranken took over. Thus, Pommery became again a family-owned company.
Under Vranken the house-style has remained intact, thanks to skilful winemaker Clément Pierlot.
Pommery is one of the biggest Grand Cru landowners. The Vranken-Pommery group owns and operates 288 ha of vineyards. They also actively partake in their wine growers vineyard management, accompanying suppliers through new sustainable viticulture practices and by being involved as much as possible during the monitoring of ripeness and in the picking. According to Clément Pierlot it is of importance to support and work closely with the growers to control picking at the optimum time and to get the ripeness levels that always has been a key point of the house style. Their supply comes from throughout Champagne, and they are vinified in modern style. Pommery is undoubtably a great name in historical terms.

The House Style of Pommery

The house-style is made up of dry, restrained, pure Champagnes with young fruit and an unmistakable steeliness that takes many years to round off. The cuvée de prestige, Pommery Cuvée Louise doesn’t fit that description since it is silky and soft with a pure flowery bouquet from Avize and a soft structure from Aÿ. I have been amazed time and again by the greatness of the older vintages from Pommery. Only recently I bought a large number of bottles dating from 1911 to 1979, which have lain untouched since birth in the dark recesses of Champagne. Every bottle that I’ve opened has been fantastic. The modern portfolio is also impressive and aristocratic. The vintage wines are the most fit for cellaring. Some magnums of the fantastic Cuvée Louise 2004 are still around and the Cuvée Louise Rosé is the hidden secret. Each vintage of this delicate and pale nectar is world-class.

The history of Champagne is full of enterprising widows. Louise Pommery (daughter of Mme Pommery) was already a widow at the age of 39 and she probably would have proudly smiled in her grave if she had found out that she was going to give her name to the prestige Champagne that was created in her honour in 1979. Pommery, currently owned by Vranken, was founded in 1856 and is today one of the largest Champagne houses with their 5 million bottles a year. Given that most equivalent Champagne houses launched their prestige Champagnes during the 50s and 60s, it is a bit surprising that they waited until 1979 before the giant in Reims stepped onto the prestige stage. The reason is said to be that the Monegasque Polignac family for a long time was against this novelty, stating that the Pommery Grand Cru vintage wine was already perfect.
But when Pommery changed ownership Prince Alain Polignac was persuaded. He had his philosophy clear from the beginning. To create a cuvée strongly marked by the style of the house but that was even more delicious and mineral-driven, made from grapes from their own vineyards in the prince’s favorite villages; Aÿ for pinot noir, Avize and Cramant for chardonnay, always with 40% pinot noir for structure and depth and 60% chardonnay for elegance, freshness and an aromatic spring-floral profile. Furthermore, they are careful to seek out the coolest space in Pommery’s sacred chalk cellar and let the wine rest for about ten years to give an extra chalky note and create minimal, exciting, small bubbles that accentuates the aromatic elegance to the fullest. The addition of sugar is also remarkably low, all to maintain purity.
Clément Pierlot, the Chef de Cave who makes these noble wines has told me that although it is often so that the grapes come from the oldest vines, that they primarily look at the purity, elegance and where to get the chalkiest minerality. Cuvée Louise must never become too obvious, clumsy, overloaded or too explicit. Warm vintages must be tamed and silenced. After each sublime sip one should be left with an upward smile, a vivid feeling that arouses lust for the next sip and further reflection.
The year after the launch of the white Louise the pink sister was created – Cuvée Louise Pommery Rosé. The wine is as delicate, and has with its romantic light pink color and creamy berry smoothness managed to seduce most of us lucky few who had the pleasure to enjoy this rare world-class wine.

The Solleröd Kro Tasting

Although I have so often enjoyed Louise Pommery’s elusive Garboesque beauty, I had never even heard of a vertical tasting and my tasting notes extend over a number of years. It was therefore extremely welcomed that Danish Champagne collector Bjorn Leissner had chosen Louise Pommery as the theme for the annual orgy of Champagne in the August sun on the magic Solleröd Kro, in the picturesque beech forest north of Copenhagen. As usual, chef Jan Restorff presented world class dishes on a conveyor belt accompanied by almost all vintages made by Louise Pommery.
Based on this tasting and my previous encounters with Louise I have tried to compile how this elusive delicate Champagne has behaved over the years.
One of the things that strikes me most strongly is the uniformity of quality. It actually seems like the perfect bottle (preferably in magnum) is virtually present in every vintage. In one moment I have condemned a vintage on regular bottling just to find out that there is a magnificent recently disgorged beauty opened around the corner. The difference between regular and magnum bottles also appears to be even larger than for most other prestige Champagnes. Perhaps the ultra-elegant mineral embossed style of Louise fits exceptionally well with the reductive roasted coffee note donated by a magnum. I also find it a little difficult to determine at what age you should enjoy this crystal-clear nectar. Given that the first two vintages of ‘79 and ‘80 are still subtly elegant and yet so grand one should not need to rush if you have a good cellar to cherish your Garbo in.

2004 Cuvée Louise Rosé

Tasting note ‘Ohh how happy I was when new winemaker Clément Pierlot served this wine to me and my VIP group in October 2018. I thought Pommery had stopped creating this ruby. Clément confirmed that the management was about to drop the house’s finest Champagne from the range because demand is so small. It was 4 years between the vintages and the production is vanishingly small, but the quality is unmistakable. A superb wine with the palest color imaginable and the most sublime aroma spectrum imaginable. Silky smooth and minute-long seductive aftertaste to enjoy in the world’s most beautiful places during a perfect Champagne Hiking.’

2005 Cuvée Louise

Tasting note ‘Amazing that Pommery is now releasing its prestige cuvée at the age of 16.5! This time with a little more Avize chardonnay than usual to meet the vintage’s richness and low acidity with sublime elegance. Drunk with my son Melker born in 2005 when we were at La Digue in the Seychelles. I was a little worried both in the rainforest and on the sandy beach where we came to taste this beauty that the wine would be too heavy in the heat, but it did not happen at all. A sounding pure and ultra-sophisticated beauty with shy silky features, intense mineral base notes and elegant notes of red fruit from Aÿ, sublime citrus and shyly beautiful florality from Avize and Cramant. Brilliant!’

2006 Cuvée Louise
Brut Nature

Tasting note ‘A magnificent deep golden colour with an incomparable brilliance. The first nose is floral, creamy. These delicate notes revolve around aromas of quince paste and candied mirabelle. We are struck by the generosity of the 2006 vintage with its toasted and brioche notes. The attack is perfectly frank. The finish, so particular to Louise Nature, reveals a subtle bitterness with notes of citron zest of an incredible delicacy.’

LES Clos Pompadour

Tasting note ‘The winemaker Clément Pierlot gave me and my VIP group a wonderful privilege, where we had the opportunity to look into the crystal ball of the ‘Clos Pompadour’ and taste nine different vintages on magnum. Six of them ‘pre-release’ disgorged without dosage one hour in advance. All impressed emphatically and showed that ‘Clos Pompadour’ is a world-class wine that is characterized by the austere chalk from the location with pure belemnite chalk and at the same time by the concentration in the fruit from the old vines. Champagne legend – Pommery ‘Les Clos Pompadour’. But that’s another story as they say.’

RICK ALLEN

There’s an undeniable buzz of excitement in the team at Gapsted Estate.
And why not? Shooting for the stars tends to have that effect.
For years the picturesque Alpine Valley winery has churned out impressive, food-friendly wines – with a heavy slant towards Mediterranean varieties – that have offered incredible bang for buck.
With just one wine in their hefty range hitting the $40-mark, it has been a recipe that has served them well.
How well? Consider this: annually Gapsted produces between 200,000 and 250,000 cases, depending on the vintage. That’s big.
And before Covid struck – and the ensuing freeze with China – Gapsted was exporting to the US, Canada, Germany, Norway, Russia, United Arab Emirates, India, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and China.
Throw in a highly popular restaurant and cellar door in their picture-postcard grounds just outside Myrtleford and, by any reckoning, this family-run operation was flying. A business model others could only envy.
But CEO Andrew Santarossa, who joined the company in late 2021, wanted more – and makes no apologies for it.
With 25 years in the industry including successful winemaking stints at Giant Steps, Cloudy Bay, Cape Mentelle, Domaine Chandon and Mitchelton, he was quick to see Gapsted’s untapped potential.
“Commercially Gapsted had been very successful, but I wanted us to drill down more on our wines and our Alpine country location,” he explained.
“I wanted us to back ourselves more with the quality of wine we could produce. The wines were always good, but I thought we could take them to another level … to become absolute benchmark cool-climate expressions, particularly with the Mediterranean varieties.”
To do that meant change … not easy to manage when the current business model was so overwhelmingly successful.
But Santarossa clearly hasn’t just mastered the art of winemaking, he’s also pretty handy with the art of persuasion too.
So today, Gapsted Wines have become Gapsted Estate, the first of a number of significant changes you’ll notice over the coming months, that will include their wine range, pricing, labelling and vineyards.
“We want to take people on a journey of discovery about just how good benchmark level Mediterranean varieties can be in Alpine country,” he said. “Wines like tempranillo, fiano, pinot grigio, saperavi, primitivo, prosecco and so on.
“We have these amazing microclimates up here and wonderful growing conditions, so I’m incredibly positive about this.
“I envisage that rather than $40 for our most expensive wine, we’ll be pricing them at about $100 and we’ll work back from there.”
The thing about banging a three-figure price on your wine is that there’s nowhere to hide – it has to be good, consistently. And that requires top quality fruit.
“It does, so the first thing we’ll be doing is investing in vineyards,” Santarossa said. “Right now we grow about 15 per cent of the fruit we use – we have eight hectares under vine here on the property and another 12 hectares outside – and I want to increase that to about 50 per cent of our own fruit.
“So, we’ll be looking to purchase another two blocks that we’ll plant from scratch with these Mediterranean varieties. At the same time, we have established ongoing relationships with a number of local growers and we’ll be relying on them too.”
Santarossa knows his goal won’t be cheap, and that he can’t afford any slip-ups in its execution.
“It’s really important that we get the right sites and the right plantings,” he said. “But I’m convinced it’s the way forward.
“And winemaking is a slow game. You plant a new vineyard, it’s going to take a few of years before you’re getting the quality of fruit you need, so we’re mindful of that too.”
While the buck stops with Santarossa, he insists it will be a collaborative effort with his two fellow winemakers, Greg Bennett and Toni Pla Bou.
“Not only that but we will be bringing in a graduate winemaker too … we want to nurture the next generation of winemaker.”
Is he concerned that by raising the price of the top wine from $40 to $100, he may be pricing some of Gapsted’s long-standing buyers out of the market?
“I don’t see that as a problem, because we’ll still have $22 wines for them to enjoy,” he said. “We’re not dropping the standard on the quality of that wine. It’s just that there will be levels of wine above. But at all prices we want to offer quality and value.”
Outside of the winemaking side of things, the changes will positively affect the Gapsted restaurant and cellar door as well.
Chef Leon Dammenhayn has extensive experience in Europe, particularly Switzerland, Germany and The Netherlands, and is thrilled at the amazing local produce he has at his disposal.
“He knows that as good as the food is – and it’s very good by the way – it has to complement the wine … that’s really important in our plans,” Santarossa says. “But he’s right on board with that.”
For those not familiar with the alternative varieties, Santarossa offers a couple in snapshot:
Saperavi: A Gapsted icon wine. The Georgian teinturier variety produces wine-like essence. It is thick and concentrated on the palate, tasting like a fruit reduction of blackcurrants.
Primitivo: Also known as Zinfandel. The Italian variety has quickly become one of our most awarded reds – a powerful wine that shows generosity, richness and refinement.
Grand Manseng: A white wine that is grown primarily in south-west France. It produces intensely flavoured and rich wines with high natural acidity and is prized for its ability to age.
So, in summary, how does Santarossa see Gapsted’s immediate future?
“We have the Great Alpine Road out the front, the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail runs past here, a popular restaurant and cellar door in an amazing wine growing area that happens to be really picturesque. Why wouldn’t you be optimistic?” Exciting times, all right.

EMMA JENKINS

“HAVE I told you about our Angus bull sale?” Brent Marris is certainly the first winemaker I’ve interviewed to open with a line like that, leaving me momentarily nonplussed. I should have known better, having twice previously profiled Marris’s company Marisco Vineyards, for he is a man on a mission, marrying family, wine and farming in a farsighted manner.
The bulls in question are the Angus cattle born and bred on Leefield Station, the historic 2200ha sheep and beef farm acquired by the Marris family in 2013. Ten years previously, Marris and wife Rosemary established a 260ha vineyard and winery in Marlborough’s Waihopai Valley, launching The Ned and The King’s Series brands in 2006. It was soon clear more fruit was required – current estimate is that every 24 hours some 35,000 bottles of just The Ned brand are consumed globally. The purchase of Leefield Station ensured more prime viticultural land just a little further up the valley from the existing vineyard and winery and importantly, allowed a marked expansion of the Marisco Vineyards vision.
Over the past ten years Marris and his team have mapped the station via 100 soil pits and planted 600ha of vines, matching varieties to the soil type. A winery was built in time for the 2020 harvest and the Leefield Station and The Craft Series brands developed. The farm’s original 100-year-old woolshed has been meticulously restored, and the past few years have seen the development of ‘The Village’, a collection of communal buildings reminiscent of a traditional farm hub, including a dining hall and village green. Leefield Station remains a working farm, registered as an Angus cattle breeder, running Romney and Hampshire sheep and Berkshire pigs on its hillsides, while grapes occupy the flatlands. Fencing, shelter plantings, water and feed supplies have been improved, and they have established a huge dam landscaped as a lake. All up, there is some 200ha of parkland and streams, 1000ha of stocked hillsides and 300ha of native bush – not only a sophisticated and sustainable farm ecosystem but also a unique wine tourism experience. Marris has brought Australian and UK buyers to sit by the stream and taste the Marisco Vineyards wines amongst its buildings and vines. He says there’s “never any need to do the hard sell” as the Marisco Vineyards ethos is there all around them. The Village has been used for community events such as Pony Club and Hound Shows, and of course, the bull sale took place on the village green, the animals calmly at home in the environment where they were raised. Marris says, “There was a lot of satisfaction and pride that day, seeing all the elements of Leefield Station come together as we as a family and company had planned”. He views the unique farm system as an integral aspect of Marisco Vineyard’s wines, commenting that their consumers “get more than just a slice of NZ wine, they also get integrity and authenticity, a unique expression of this land”.
Leefield Station’s whole system integration, owning their vineyards and wineries, and having dedicated teams is very important to Marris, the key to maintaining Marisco Vineyard’s control from the vineyard to finished wine which he says pays dividends in the wines’ consistent quality and style. Over 95% of Marisco Vineyard’s fruit comes from their vineyards, and they’re aiming for 100%. The two wineries allow fruit to be processed within an hour of picking, reducing impact from oxidation and phenolics, and contributing towards their fresh, fruit-focused styles. Marris says as the vines, and the vineyard and winery teams have matured, they’ve seen an increase in “site expression, balance, flavour – and confidence in ourselves.”
Marris has a clear idea of where Marisco Vineyard’s core focus is and prefers to keep improving upon this rather than seek change for its own sake, stating that he is not interested in Marisco Vineyards trying to be all things to all people. He is also not one for sitting still. With the vision for Leefield Station coming to fruition, the next steps are taking the company towards carbon negativity, examining all aspects of their environmental footprint for areas of improvement. A second stage of the Leefield Station winery has solar units incorporated into its building panels, all winery water and grape marc are returned to the property, there is an intensive recycling programme that turns plastic containers into vineyard posts, and of course, all food scraps make their way to the resident Berkshire pigs. They have established a native plant nursery, growing and planting 5,000 trees annually, and two recent ‘50-year floods’ have provided opportunity to futureproof flood management around the properties. Ongoing vine planting is focused on areas that may previously have been considered marginal but will help mitigate climate change impacts as well as diversify fruit expression.
This longer-term outlook extends to family. Of Brent and Rosemary Marris’s four daughters, the eldest Emma is a winemaker managing the Leefield Station winery, who has recently delved further into its business aspects working at a mergers and acquisition firm; Georgia is in sales and marketing, with a growing eye for international markets, and while the other two are finishing university, they too have a keen interest in Marisco Vineyards and its future plans.
Marris says the string of medals and trophies at local and international wine shows, accolades such as those achieved within this magazine and enviable sales data from both NZ, Australia and UK mean they feel confident Marisco Vineyards is on the right track. They have consistency in not only their production process but also in the branding and message they deliver to their consumers, which is about to be ramped up via a global ad campaign.
Marris is excited by what’s to come, outlining, “We’ve continued the journey of the station’s history, with the bulls, sheep, cattle, anchored it with the building to when it was first established over 100 years ago, and then brought modern Marlborough to it via the vineyards and a winery”. He says, “to dovetail both farming with viticulture and winemaking, and take that to the world… I think in 50 years’ time, this is going to become a very special place that is going to be seen internationally as a wonderful asset for Marlborough”.

BRENDA CHRISTIAN

HUNTER VALLEY chef Matt Dillow is nothing if not persistent.
So, when he bought The Deck Cafe in 2013 it’s fair to say he had his sights on buying the adjoining Gartelmann cellar door right from the start.
“Absolutely, I pestered Jorg Gartelmann pretty much every month to see if he was interested in selling,” he says, chuckling at the memory.
It took a few years – quite a few, in fact – but finally, in late 2020, Jorg finally agreed, deciding it was time to take a step back.
“He actually contacted me and asked if I was still interested,” Dillow says. “I was down there almost before he’d hung up.”
Fast forward a couple of years and both the revamped Deck Cafe and the Gartelmann cellar door are thriving – a must-stop for anyone visiting the Lovedale side of Hunter Valley Wine Country – overcoming everything the menacing trifecta of floods, Covid and bushfire could throw at them.
And Dillow’s energy and drive is right at the heart of it.
“I wanted to honour the Gartelmann brand but, at the same time, we’ve made some changes as you would expect,” he acknowledges.
“When Covid came along I took the opportunity to flip the cafe and turn it into an up-market tapas place without sacrificing its relaxed feel. And with social distancing we added some tables under umbrellas around the lake.
“Both the moves have proven really popular. We’re incredibly busy – it’s a good idea to book any time, but weekends especially. We serve our Gartelmann wines, which pair perfectly with the food. Invariably a lot of our customers will drop into the cellar door either before they eat to see what wines to order, or afterwards.
“The cafe and the cellar door complement each other.”
On top of that Dillow has introduced animal petting for the kids – “we’ve got alpacas, mini horses, Hereford saddleback pigs, ducks, chickens, goats … we’ve even got a baby lamb that pays the occasional visit to the cellar door” – and various improvements around the grounds.
“People say to me the place looks loved, which is nice to hear,” he says.
“Next up we have an amphitheatre going in which will be great for live music and various events.”
But if all that makes it sound like the wine side of things takes second place, don’t be fooled. The wines have never been better.
In that regard Dillow has relied on experienced Hunter cellar door man Jimmy Smith to run things, first as cellar door manager and more recently operations manager.
Smith, with extensive experience at Tulloch, Brokenwood and First Creek cellar doors, has definite views on what he wants, and it sits comfortably alongside Dillow’s vision.
“The goal is to make the best wine we possibly can,” Smith says.
“We genuinely believe our wines are improving right across the board. I think you’d be hard pressed to argue that point.
“They have always offered seriously good value for money – our two Reserve wines for example, the Lisa chardonnay is $50 and the Diedrich shiraz $55, which is outstanding value considering their quality. It’s a lot of bang for your buck.
“But now the push is on to lift the standard even higher.”
And there’s probably no better example of that than the current Gartelmann Rosé, which won the trophy for Best Rosé of Show at the 2022 Hunter Valley Wine Show.
“Bone dry, it’s a lovely wine,” he said.
The other thing Gartelmann have in their favour is their contract winemaker, Liz Silkman (First Creek and Silkman Wines), the only person to be named Hunter Winemaker of the Year three times.
“We know if we can get quality fruit to Liz, she’ll do the rest,” Smith says.
“She has been making our wines from the start and knows what we’re looking for, the style we want.
“She’s a terrific winemaker full stop, but an absolute wizard with chardonnay. We’re really excited about the state of our chardonnays right now.”
In the early days Gartelmann had its own vines on the property, but as age started to catch up with him, Jorg sold the vines, preferring to purchase fruit instead, which is still the case today.
So, aside from Hunter fruit, Gartelmann also take fruit from the Upper Hunter, Orange, Rylstone, Clare Valley and Renmark.
The range includes semillon, riesling, verdelho, pinot gris, chardonnay, shiraz, merlot, cabernet merlot, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, sparkling shiraz, blanc de blancs, a dessert wine, muscat, and a moscato.
“We’re looking to expand, but only if it fits with what we’re trying to do,” Smith says. “For example, this has been our first vintage of riesling.
“Liz was able to source some terrific fruit and it’s made in a dry, serious style which has done really well for us. Those clean, fresh citrus flavours follow on nicely from our semillon and is a natural fit.
“We have ongoing relationships with our growers and that has served us well. At the same time we keep an eye out for quality parcels of fruit that we can lock in.”
Dillow says that since the arrival of the riesling, he’s happy with the white range, but admits he would like to see another red or two added.
“I have a Mediterranean heritage, so I would like to see us expand with either a barbera or a montepulciano,” he said.
“And we’re increasingly finding in the Hunter that Mediterranean varieties do well here, so maybe that’s something for up the track.”
Smith also has his eyes on expanding, with the classic Australian blend of shiraz cabernet appealing to him.
“Some of Australia’s great reds have been shiraz cabernet blends. We get top shiraz in the Hunter and quality cabernet from Mudgee, so I think that’s something we could certainly look at.”
However, you look at it, Gartelmann is on the move. If you’re driving by, just look for the big magpie on the cellar door. Or the car park, which will almost certainly be chockers.

THE majority of Australians flying to the US make landfall in Los Angeles. But leading airlines competing on the trans-Pacific route have ramped up the number of flights to San Francisco. United Airlines now flies daily from Sydney and three times a week from Melbourne. Qantas resumed flights to the Foggy City in October this year and United added three flights a week from Brisbane.
San Francisco has certainly geared up for an increase in arrivals from Australia and elsewhere. The third stage of its new US$2.4 billion Harvey Milk Terminal 1 opened last year and the final extension will be completed in early 2024. Packed with shops and Bay Area restaurants, the new facility is a breath of fresh air compared to frenetic LA, which is the third busiest airport in the world.
San Francisco is also relatively compact, encompassing its famed 7x 7 square mile core. You might return from a trip feeling much fitter as well after hiking the city’s hilly streets and the exercise also helps to work up more of an appetite for San Francisco’s top-class dining and bar scenes.
Even if you have left your heart in San Francisco before, it’s always a treat to re-visit the major sights – the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square, the Botanical Gardens, Nob Hill, Alamo Square for the iconic Edwardian and Victorian houses, Alcatraz and the Embarcadero, which snakes along the city’s eastern shoreline and houses the Ferry Building, a farmer’s market and a swathe of waterfront restaurants.
Every foodie knows that San Francisco is overweeningly proud of its culinary reputation – from Michelin-starred temples to some of the best Asian holes-in-the-wall you will find anywhere. But Frisco’s bars, breweries and cocktail hangouts are also a major cut above.
Mister Jiu’s, the Michelin-starred Chinatown favourite, runs the Moongate Lounge upstairs. Oozing lavish mid-century elegance, the high-back velvet banquettes are illuminated with lotus-shaped brass lamps. The cocktail menu takes its cue from the Chinese agrarian calendar and rotates through the year. The seasonal and signature drinks veer from the Titan, a mix of Scotch whisky, Barolo chinato and toasted brown rice powder, to Start of Spring with vodka and fresh peas.
Fort Point Beer is rated as one of San Francisco’s best breweries. Located on the Embarcadero side of the Ferry Building, there’s plenty of outdoor tables to take in the panoramic views. The hot dogs with all the fixings here are as much of a drawcard as the beers – from the KSA (a Kolsch-style ale), through American IPA and nitrogen-charged summer porter.
I love Nob Hill and have stayed in the iconic Huntington Hotel several times, which re-opened at the beginning of October. On the lower part of the high-class enclave, you’ll find Members Only & Finders Keepers. A 2-in-1 drinking den that opened earlier this year, everyone receives a warm welcome in spite of the exclusive name. Harking back to the golden era of supper clubs, you can order parmesan truffle fries or pork belly bao to accompany drinks such as Larkin Breeze- a mix of gin, cachaca, rhubarb, vanilla and fennel, or Don’t Post This- a blend of brandy, baiju, citrus and smoked cherry.
The heritage Comstock Saloon in Chinatown nods towards San Francisco’s early days as a rough-edged town on the edge of the goldfields. The 100-year-old mahogany bar and ceramic blue and white tiled floor look straight out of a movie set. But drinks like Pisco Punch, not rotgut whiskey, are the preferred tipples these days.
Whitechapel in the Tenderloin district boasts one of the largest gin selections in the world. The decor echoes Victorian gin palaces and a London Tube station. The menu has British-Indian and Dutch-Indonesian colonial overtones, but they also serve a mean fish and chips with mashed minted peas.
San Francisco boasts five Michelin two-star restaurants – Lazy Bear, Saison, Californios, Acquerello and Birdsong. But you shouldn’t miss Sam Wo in Chinatown, which bills itself as the first Chinese restaurant in the US. Fisherman’s Wharf is a major tourist attraction but many of its waterfront restaurants are exceptionally good for local delicacies such as cioppino, the Italian American version of bouillabaisse, and clam chowder served in sourdough bread “bowls”. Another culinary institution is the House of Prime Rib. Founded in 1949, it’s a landmark destination for local and visiting meat lovers for its 21-day aged prime rib.
Newer on the scene is Osito, a live fire newbie with two nightly sittings and a long communal table. Empress by Boon opened in June by Michelin-starred chef, Ho Chee Boon, and offers contemporary Chinese cuisine. The prix fixe menu is a steal at US$98.
Californios is a must for aficionados of Mexican food, but if you don’t want to pay Michelin-starred prices, El Buen Comer specialises in authentic Chilango cooking from slow-cooked stews such as tinga, pulled chicken in tomato, onion and chipotle sauce.
Seafood is centre stage in many San Francisco eateries from the Swan Oyster Depot on Nob Hill to Waterbar on the Embarcadero. If you are feeling hungry and flush, the Shellfish Indulgence Platter here is bulging with blue crab, lobster, tiger prawns, oysters and ceviche. Angler San Francisco, the brainchild of Joshua Skenes of Michelin–starred Saison fame, has a raw bar, specials centered on Monterey abalone and scorpion fish roasted over a live fire. The wine list and chic, lodge-style decor complete an experience that takes a lot of beating.

FANCY a Chubby Ape? An intriguing ale brewed with Queensland bananas and Tasmanian walnuts. Or what about a glass of California Wild Ale’s Blueberry Pancakes Pastry Sour Beer? Not to your taste? Then maybe we can tempt you with a Coner 53’s Lemon Meringue Pie Gin or a Daylesford Pinot Noir Barrel Aged Cider? There is so much choice in the alcohol market it’s overwhelming and the steadfast, stalwart category of wine is well and truly under the cosh from competitors.
So, what can wine offer a jaded palate that looks down a wine list and sees the usual suspects – riesling, sauvignon blanc, semillon, chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon? Well, there is plenty to try if you only scratch the surface and get out of the rut of ordering that shiraz or chardonnay.
Let us consider some alterative white wines that are available, either grown in Australia or imported from overseas. Italy has literally hundreds to choose from. Arneis from Piemonte is a wine with fresh acidity and peachy, pear, nutty almond aromas, and it can be matured in oak. You will find it grown in most Australian regions. Fiano is so popular that it could be about to jump out of the alternative grape variety category to join the mainstream grape varieties. It comes from Campania in southern Italy and Fiano di Avellino DOCG is the major region of production, which lies in-land from Napoli. The wine has aromas of citrus, stone fruit, beeswax and that typical Italian almond-meal character. On the palate they range from light and acid driven to fleshy and somewhat intense. Some producer’s oak mature their wines. Moving north, Garganega is the grape behind Soave from the Veneto region. It makes what you would describe as a non-aromatic wine but can be nicely textured on the palate. The trend in Australia is to make more textured wines so we are slowly producing more wines from Garganega. Vermentino is another savoury wine originating from Sardinia and Provence in France. Finally, we have Friulano, when treated seriously, it produces a textured and rich wine from Friuli Venezia Giulia. Try RiverBank Estate from the Swan in WA for the former, and the wonderful Grazia blend from Vinea Marson in Heathcote for the latter.
Grüner Veltliner deserve a mention and has been singlehandedly pushed into the limelight by Hahndorf Hill in the Adelaide Hills. It is Austria’s famous white grape variety, and the wine can have viognier-like pungency and structure with aromas running from mineral, wet stone, floral to orange peel and stone fruit depending on when it is picked.
There are a couple of interesting and aromatically driven wines from overseas that have yet to be commercialised in Australia. Torrontés from Argentina is a cross between Muscat of Alexandria and Criolla Chica (a local name for the Mission grape of California) and the best examples come from the Salta Province of northern Argentina. It has delightful floral aromatics. Moschofilero is from the Greek Peloponnese region south-west of Athens. It makes wines that have strong floral and musk aromas similar to gewurztraminer. Both grape varieties are drink early fresh styles and ideal for summer.
Turning to red wines there is even more choice. Gamay is not really an alternative grape variety, being the grape that makes Beaujolais. But Australian made wines are still hard to find. I’d encourage you to discover this red fruit driven, ‘cab-mac’ (semi-carbonic-maceration) wine, especially if it is given a touch of the pinot noir treatment with some supporting oak. Try Lyons Will from the Macedon Ranges.
Before we return to Italy for more varieties there are two emerging grapes from the Iberian Peninsula. Touriga Nacional is famous for leading the quintet of grapes that make Port in the Douro Valley of Portugal but is also capable of making great table wine. It produces deeply coloured robust wines with black fruits and some floral aromas. Stanton & Killeen use it in their Iberian Blend called The Prince. Graciano is from Spain’s Rioja region and is also known as Morrastel in France. It produces light to medium bodied wine, highly coloured, with fragrant cherry aromas. Try Mount Majura from the Canberra District.
Sagrantino is the famous tannic red wine of Umbria. Andrew Peace in the Swan Hill region of Victoria has the largest plantings of sagrantino in Australia and produces a rich blackberry and plum fruit driven wine with earthy and cedar notes which is suitably tannic on the palate. They also have the Austrian red grape zweigelt planted which makes a fruit driven wine full of cherries and marzipan. Hahndorf Hill also make zweigelt and their Austrian fetish continues with them planting and making a blaufränkisch. It makes a light, juicy style of red wine. Marlborough based winery Hans Herzog Estate have recently released New Zealand’s first blaufränkisch.
Brian Freeman in the Hilltops region of NSW uses corvina and rondinella grapes and partially dries a portion of them in a prune dehydrator before adding them back to the remainder in what is an Australian version of the Ripasso process. This is the technique used to produce a style of Valpolicella in Veneto. Freeman Secco Rondinella Corvina is a rich wine with plums, spices and savoury tannins.
More conventional winemaking is used in producing montepulciano and nero d’avola. These two southern Italian reds are fruit driven medium to full bodied wines. They both do well in warmer climates so are at home in Australia.
We will end our journey into alterative varieties on two more Italian reds that in their birthplace can produce top quality wines. Barbera stands second in importance behind nebbiolo in Piemonte. Barbera d’Asti DOCG and Barbera d’Alba DOC are the two major regions. Carlo Corino brought cuttings out from Italy in the 1970’s and planted them when he was winemaker at Montrose in Mudgee. Andrew Margan took cuttings of these and planted them at his Ceres Hill vineyard in 1998. His Margan Barbera has become their most popular red wine in the retail market, and they continuously sell out. The grape is renowned for its high acidity which is useful in hot regions as it can retain its freshness. Tannins levels are low and flavours include cherry, strawberries and herbs.
Done! Twenty wine alternatives to avoid drinking carrot infused gin churned in a milk vat and aged in the spleen of a grass-fed bison (I’ve made that one up).

Nigel Hopkins

WHEN you’ve won almost every award your industry can give you, been honored by two national governments, add in a couple of honorary doctorates for services to that industry and the community and achieved a professional reputation possibly unmatched by your peers – and you’re less than two years short of 90 – you could be excused for saying, in whatever the German words might be, thanks guys, I’ve had enough – I’m out of here.
But that’s not Wolf Blass.
He could easily have just gone on going to the races to watch his racehorses win, shooting competitively with his .22 pistol most Saturday mornings, and waited for the next footy season to watch if his beloved Norwood can win the SANFL premiership again.
He’ll do all of that, and he remains an international ambassador for Wolf Blass Wines, which has won more than 10,000 national and international wine show awards since he started the company in 1966 – then named Bilyara, or Eaglehawk.
But six decades after the young German winemaker migrated to Australia, at the behest of Ian Hickinbotham who’d recruited him to make sparkling wines at Kaiser Stuhl (and give a wakeup to Orlando’s then market leader Barossa Pearl), he’s no longer focussed on the industry that made him famous and wealthy.
At 88, Blass knows he may not live for ever – though that’s not entirely certain, given his continued energy, but he is determined that his legacy will live on through the Wolf Blass Foundation that he founded in 1994 on his 60th birthday with an initial $1 million donation.
“This country has been very good to me… and I’ve been good for the country,” Blass said later, determined that his Foundation could be a way of giving something back.
Its goal was to assist the wine industry to achieve excellence in winemaking, viticulture and marketing, and Blass saw it underpinning work in viticultural and oenological research and development, wine education, wine and health, and creating a global wine industry profile for Australia.
But the opportunities it presented were slow to be recognised by the wine industry as a whole until the success of one of its major projects, an inaugural International Wine and Health Conference held in Sydney in 1996, which attracted a host of national and international epidemiologists and research scientists.
“The health conference at the time was one of the biggest critical issues the wine industry was facing in 1996,” Blass says. “It was the biggest thing we ever did. We flew in people from Holland, America, England, research scientists and so on. It was one of the biggest projects we’ve done.”
In 1998 the Foundation implemented a wine lecturer exchange between Charles Sturt University and Blass’s former alma mater Wurzburg Wine University in Germany, which continued annually until scuppered for the time being by COVID. Then in 2000 an event was started by pioneer Canberra winemaker Ken Helm that lifted the profile of both the Foundation as sponsor and what was probably Blass’s favourite grape variety, the International Riesling Challenge.
Alongside it, Wolf Blass, who was chairman of judges for the first six years, made a separate, personal Wolf Blass Award that recognised major contributions to the development and promotion of riesling in Australia. It has since recognised riesling masters such as Peter Lehmann, Brian Barry, Brian Croser, Jeffrey Grosset and John Vickery. This year it went to the Barry family at Jim Barry Wines.
“Being German, I believe in riesling,” Blass said at the time. “Australia needs a benchmark white wine, but unfortunately the Australian wine industry has not seen fit to promote one of its best products.”
Another major, and expensive, project was completion of an oral history of Australia’s wine industry, done in conjunction with the National Wine Centre and begun in 2000. In 2007 noted wine writer Max Allen was commissioned to write a book, The History of Australian Wine, based on the interviews with wine industry pioneers and the key characters who’d built Australia’s wine and grape growing industry. The book was released in 2012 in conjunction with the Foundation, the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, Yalumba Wines and Treasury Wine Estates.
Blass’s Foundation worked successfully behind the scenes when it funded the Wine Federation of Australia’s bid to get a $50 million GST refund over five years from the Federal Government, working in conjunction with Liberal Senator Anne Ruston.
But it wasn’t until 2018 that Blass saw the culmination of a long-held dream, the opening of a wine museum to display his enormous collection of wine memorabilia. It was his late wife Shirley Nyberg-Blass who suggested it be located in Hahndorf, appropriate due to Wolf’s German heritage. Shirley would play a critical role not only in discovering the site, a former bank building, but also in supervising its modern extension and redevelopment.
The property included a tiny, original stone schoolroom in need of major repair – now repurposed as a demonstration cooperage, and a light and airy wine bar and tasting area was built around it, leading to an outdoor terrace. This is also home to a café serving copious platters and pizzas, simple and delicious fare and one of the more civilised and peaceful corners of the Hahndorf tourist complex.
A key feature is the 7m long Wolfie’s Horse Bar with a massive swag of silver trophies testament to Blass’s love of horse racing and, not surprisingly, an excellent wine list. He never managed to win the Melbourne Cup, but he did the next best thing and bought the first Cup ever presented in 1865, which is on display nearby.
Close by, too, is an ornate case celebrating his four Jimmy Watson wins, still the only winemaker to win three in a row from 1974-6 – with another in 1999, just to show he was still on top of his game.
Further towards the front of the building, is the main museum with all of Wolf Blass’s memorabilia, from 70 massive scrapbooks of newspaper cuttings and documents to ceremonial gowns and display cases documenting his whole career.
It would be easy for a sceptical visitor to say, well, it’s all just about Wolf. Of course it is. Remember, this is the supreme marketer, probably the best the Australian wine industry ever had. Famous for his bow ties, the Yellow Rolls Royce that got wrapped around a telegraph pole, who saw his wine company grow from a simple shed to an international behemoth.
When you look closely, though, you see that it is also a story of the Australian wine industry, such has been his influence across so many companies, the development of wine styles, the way he has nurtured the industry and helped define its future here and internationally. If it’s all about Wolf – and for him it is all about Wolf the man, not the extrovert marketer, not the brand – that’s exactly as it should be.
“I had the privilege to be here at the right time, when we could turn Australia around from being a beer drinking nation,” Blass says. “I’m very satisfied personally that I’m giving something back after all that Australia has given me. I’ve achieved everything that a person can achieve professionally and now I’m just going on enjoying life in the hope the industry will get its act together and collectively move forward.”
The Blass legacy is now secure. His Foundation, through Blass’s astute investments, is now worth $11 million and has many more projects under way.
“I’d like the legacy of Wolf Blass to continue forever,” he says. “I’ll continue pumping money into it during my lifetime, I have a very strong team around me that will be replaced and renewed as necessary, there are trustees in place, so there will be no problems about its continuing.”
Well, that’s definitely something to raise a glass to.

This issue we bring you; The Jimmy Watson Trophy Revisited, Rosé, Pinot Noir, Champagne & Sparkling, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc & Blends, Pinot Gris/Grigio, New Releases and Michael Cooper’s NZ Recent Releases.
An amazing line up that we hope you will enjoy!

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