Winecellars and Wolf Blass held their first ever Wolf Blass Academy in Malaysia at Magellan Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu. I was so excited to be invited to be part of this event where we got to taste Wines from Wolf Blass and create my own blend of Black Label Wine.
From its beginnings in a humble Barossa Valley tin shed, Wolf Blass has become one of the world’s most successful and awarded wine brands.
Wolf Blass Founder, Mr Wolfgang Franz Otto Blass
Since Black Label launched in 1973 it has earned more than 250 gold medals and 49 trophies at internationaland national shows, including the coveted Jimmy Watson Trophy an unprecedented four times. 
Wolf Blass winery uses colored labels to differentiate its wines. From the entry-level red label to yellow, gold, gray, black and – the pinnacle of the hierarchy – the single-vineyard platinum label.
We get to taste 5 wines from Wolf Blass Winery. Wolf Blass Adelaide Hills Gold Label Chardonay 2013, Wolf Blass Gold Label Shiraz 2012, Wolf Blass Gold Label Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Wolf Blass Grey Label Mclaren Vale Shiraz 2010, Wolf Blass Platinum Label Shiraz 2006. We were told about the characteristics of each wine by Winemaker
swirl, smell and enjoy the wine
part 2 of the event, we got to know more about Wolf Blass famous black Label.
The philosophy behind Black Label is simple: to take the year’s very best wines and weave them together into a synergistic whole, the resultant wine being greater than the sum of its parts. It’s about creating a wine with many layers of flavour in a complex composition of intense fruit characters, magnificent structure, a rich lustrous texture, long velvety tannins and a lingering palate. Harvested at optimum maturity and flavour, fruit from each vineyard was crushed, de-stemmed and fermented separately for seven to twelve days on skins. The ferments were allowed to warm naturally with plunging and gentle pumping over used to maximise colour and flavour extraction. Mid-ferment cooling extended fermentation, exploiting time on skins and accentuating line and length. The wines were pressed while still retaining a touch of sugar, then transferred to barrel to complete fermentation, allowing a balanced integration of oak characters and enhancing texture and complexity. 
Participants are encouraged to guess what is the right ratio for Black Label. The Black Label is a combination blend of Langhorne Creek 2012 Cabernet, Mclaren Vale 2012 Shiraz and Langhorne Creek 2012 Malbec. 
Mixing my preferred ratio into a tube. Feel like I am in a chemistry class
My final blend goes into specially prepared bottle. 
Stuart Rusted, Winemaker from Wolf Blass. Thanks for the information
My very own Black Label Wine! Even though my ratio is way off from the Winemaker’s blend. The official ratio is 60% Cabernet, 35% Shiraz and 5% Malbec. Who cares as I am having so much fun learning about Wine.
Thanks to Winecellars and Wolf Blass for making this event happen in Kota Kinabalu.
Joanne Lee
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