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It’s not every day you see someone scaling a snow-covered mountain in British Columbia. Then again, adventurer Will Gadd isn’t your everyday sort of guy. The Alberta local is best known for being the first person to ice climb Niagara Falls. We chatted to Will about the – often literal – highs and lows of his profession and the chase for a life well-lived.
I don’t pretend to be an expert on wine. I’m a complete novice, but I enjoy it a lot. The first time I learned anything about wine I was living in the south of France, climbing. The place we rented came with a vineyard. Every day we got two bottles of this wine as part of the rent. There were a few of us and we would sit there in the evening, watch the light and have a glass of wine. It’s a celebration of the day, a way to go “We got through this day and had some beautiful moments.” That’s how I drink wine.
I’ve been ice climbing since I was a kid. I started with my father in the Canadian Rockies. It’s a cold, violent sport. It’s very primal. You’re doing something that’s difficult and dangerous and real. And as a high school kid, that’s what I needed. It’s not really about beating the other team. It’s about what can you do in the mountains that’s new or different. It just lit me up – like when you’re a little kid on Saturday morning and you’ve got the feeling that it’s going to be the best day ever. And that’s what these sports feel like to me, whether it’s ice climbing or paragliding or any of the other things that I do.
It’s seasonal. I get fired up on mountaineering in the mid-summer. Fall is usually more rock climbing, sport climbing, technical climbing. And then winter is definitely ice and mixed climbing. And then spring and most of the summer is paragliding and kayaking. And I’ve been doing this kind of schedule now for more than 30 years. I’m always looking forward to the change in seasons.
The rear-view mirror isn’t all that interesting. You savour the moment. You win or you lose. The next thing is always what fires me up.
Well, there’s climbing a frozen waterfall and then there’s climbing Niagara Falls. That’s the largest, by volume, waterfall in the world. The sheer force of it shakes the ground when you’re anywhere near it. It’s just overwhelming to even stand there. It’s stunning. And to climb that, it’s just overwhelming.
Ice climbing’s a very auditory sport. Your picks go in and they crack and splinter the ice and the ice reacts just like when you drop ice cubes into a drink on a hot day. And at Niagara Falls that soundtrack is dominated by the low frequency roar of the Falls and it’s pretty amazing.
That was a long-term goal and idea. When I first proposed it, I was told no. And it took a lot of very careful work over a period of years to make that climb happen. And I think I flew back and forth – the equivalent of flying back and forth across Australia – 14 times to make that project happen. One of the best parts was going from the Governor of New York saying no to getting the keys to the city of Niagara Falls last year.
People look at what I do like, ‘Oh you must be fearless’, but the reverse is very much true. I’m afraid a lot. And I think that’s what helps me both stay alive and why I find these sports so fascinating. The reason for that is when I feel fear it’s usually because I don’t understand how something works. I don’t have genetically or inherent high levels of confidence. I’m pretty careful with how I go about things and I enjoy figuring them out. That’s part of the chase – you’ve got to figure out how it works.
I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Last year was kind of a tough year. I had a few trips that ended early due to bad weather. These things come in waves. Sometimes you’re a rock star. Sometimes you’re a rock. It’s just how it works.
What I’m working on now is using some of my sports and different experiences to chronicle places in the world that are disappearing – either due to man-made causes or just that the world is changing very fast. So now what I want to do is use what I’ve learned technically to look at the world in a different way and share that.
My whole life I’ve been chasing after dreams and ideas whether they’re business or athletic. And that’s what’s exciting. Once you achieve them it’s definitely a moment to savour and enjoy. But it’s the chase and the trying that’s really interesting and difficult in life, to keep that fire lit and to try and grow and progress as a human. It’s for me what life’s all about. It’s not sitting there and punching the clock.
If you love it, then you’ll put all kinds of hours into it. The rest will follow. In any profession, there’s a craft to it and you have to learn the craft. Whether it’s making wine or ice climbing or painting or anything worthwhile in life, there’s some kind of craft in how to do it. So you’ve got to want to do it and then you’ve got to learn the craft so it’s second nature. And then you can do just about anything.
Wolf Blass Wines was established in 1966 when Wolf began making small parcels of his own wine. The first Wolf Blass Yellow Label was made from the 1966 vintage. The first wine to bear the Wolf Blass name was the 1967 Grey Label Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz, which carried all the Langhorne Creek hallmarks of softness, drinkability and concentrated flavours of eucalypt and mint. Two years later, Wolf Blass acquired the 3 hectare 'Bilyara' site, 4kms from Nuriootpa in South Australia's Barossa Valley. Upon learning Bilyara is the Aboriginal word for Eaglehawk, and with the eagle being the national emblem of Germany, Wolf decided Wolf Blass wines would carry the eagle emblem.
Wolf hires his first winemaker, John Glaetzer, in 1970. John is later appointed to the role of Senior Winemaker in 1974, and the two form a formidable partnership and one of Australia’s most successful winemaking teams. The iconic Black Label is launched in 1973, the first a blend of 80% Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Eden Valley Shiraz matured in American and French oak for over 16 months.
Just eight years after making his first wine, Wolf Blass wins the Jimmy Watson Trophy at the 1974 Royal Melbourne Wine Show for the 1973 Wolf Blass Black Label. Wolf would go on to win the award again in 1975 and 1976.
Chris Hatcher joins Wolf Blass as Senior Winemaker in 1987. Chris would go on to become Chief Winemaker, a role he still holds today. Five years later, Chris would win his first major accolade, when the winery was awarded the Robert Mondavi Trophy for the Winemaker of the Year at the 1992 International Wine and Spirits Competition.
In 1997, Caroline Dunn was hired as a red winemaker: she would be instrumental in creating Platinum Label Shiraz and the Gold Label range. She went on to become a highly respected and influential Senior Winemaker.
In 1999, Caroline became the first female to win the Jimmy Watson Trophy, for the 1998 Black Label which she made with John Glaetzer. Just two years later, the 1998 Wolf Blass Black Label won the winery a fifth Jimmy Watson Trophy – a astonishing feat unmatched by any other producer.
In 2000, Wolfgang Blass was awarded the Maurice O'Shea Award, one of the Australian wine industry's highest honours, for his enormous contribution to the industry during his 35-year career. The following year saw the opening of the new $30 million Wolf Blass winery.
From 2008 to 2016, Wolf Blass would go on to win a slew of awards, including IWC International Red Winemaker of the Year (2008, 2013, 2016), the IWSC International Winemaker of the Year (2013), Intervin Winery of the Year (2013), CWSA Australian Wine Producer of the Year (2013), and the Australian Export Hero Award (2008).
In 2019, Wolf Blass took a bold step into the future, launching the Makers Project, a range of wines which celebrate the artistry and wine making innovation at the heart of Wolf Blass since 1966.
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