Stuart Rusted
Wolfblass Ambassador, SouthEast Asia
Q: Can you tell me where your interest in wine started?
A: Growing up in the UK I was always interested in wine once I grew to a certain age, but as a young child I remember that my father used to make his own wine. It was always kind of a magical thing. We actually had, in England, a small vine grow up on our farmhouse and my father would make wine from this. Thinking back on this, it probably wasn’t the best wine, but there was just this magic about it – the juice would bubble and ferment. That was a very early memory. Later I worked in an investment bank in the UK and through that I was exposed to drinking some good wines. Then I really hit a point in my career where I wanted to do something more tangible and more tactile – that was when I turned to wine making. It allowed me to bring a European palate to Australian wine making, which has been interesting.
Q: What is it that sets one wine apart from another? What makes one exceptional?
A: Wine is really the sum of many things: place, climate, the grape variety and the winemaker’s skill. When all of those things come together in harmony, the wines really sing. Wine is at its best when it evokes memories and images of other places and other times. For me as a winemaker, we talk about four distinct parameters: balance, length, intensity and complexity. That is a clinical way of looking at a wine, but if a wine exceeds at all of those it is a great wine.
Q: You talked about your European palate. Is there a region you prefer the most?
A: Not necessarily. I think there are great wines from many countries around the world. I just look for more elegance and balance in wines. Australia, with its warm summers, can produce very rich, full-bodied wines, but there is always a fine line when that becomes too much. I think, for me, the best wines also have a life to them, an energy. Sometimes, if the grapes are left too ripe, you lose that and it can become quite dead. That is how I see that elegance expressed in wines.
Q: So what drew you to Asia in particular?
A: I have been making wines for Wolf Blass for the past seven or eight years and part of that role requires some ambassador work as well. From Australia it is quite an easy hop up to Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, all with a similar time zone. For the past two or three years I have been spending more and more time in the region. It is very exciting to bring wine culture to countries that haven’t historically had this culture, and what an exciting and vibrant culture to bring wine to.
Q: What is it that makes Wolf Blass unique?
A: Wolf Blass wines is celebrating 50 years this year – it was started by Wolfgang Blass in 1966. He was a German migrant who came to Australia and started making wines on his own. From the beginning he tried to make wines that were approachable and that could be enjoyed by large groups of people. From those early days on he was driven to make wines that have quality, character and consistency. That is very much the same philosophy we use today. We still make wines that are soft and durable, but at the same time, offer a complexity to interest people. Even though we are one of the major global wine labels, the characteristics that gave us initial success really haven’t changed from the early days.
Q: What message would you like to spread to educate people about wines? What is the most important thing you want everyone to know?
A: The key thing is not to get too scared by the terminology or the mystique of wine. I think that places like France and Italy have capitalised on these things for a long time, whereas in Australia we think wine should be simple, enjoyable and something that should bring people together. I would tell people to try many wines and to try not to get lost in the technicality of it. Wine really should be all about enjoyment and bringing people together.
Q: What do you see as the mission for your brand going forward?
A: I think that we are making some amazing wines in Australia, and now it is my job to get those wines in front of people and to convey that sense of enjoyment and approachability. That should be the key message. Who wants to drink wine by themselves? Drinking, socializing – these are the things that make life worthwhile.
