Wolf Blass Foundation Masters Degree by Research Scholarship

The Wolf Blass Foundation Masters Degree by Research Scholarship supports the Australian wine industry by advancing marketing and innovation practices.

About

In 1994, on the occasion of his 60th birthday, Wolf Blass AM BVK announced his intention to establish the Wolf Blass Foundation. This vision was created to strengthen the Australian wine sector with an initial contribution of $1 million.

The University of South Australia awarded Wolf Blass AM BVK an honorary doctorate in 2014, recognising his distinguished contribution to public service.

Three years later, 2017, the Wolf Blass Foundation commenced a ten-year scholarship commitment with a total contribution of $350,000 to support Masters by Research students at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute to conduct research in wine marketing and innovation.

The Wolf Blass Foundation Masters Degree by Research Scholarship supports the Australian wine industry by advancing marketing and innovation practices.

Wolf Blass AM BVK is consulted on the topics before the research commences, and generously provides his advice and shares his experience to the student and supervision team as they shape meaningful research topics to support the Australian wine sector.

We are very pleased that the support from the Wolf Blass Foundation continues. In 2025, a donation of $400,000 was made to continue funding Masters by Research students at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute.

Masters by Research theses have provided wine producers more clarity on what brands they should be focusing on, benchmarking branding practices, if packaging format is an influential attribute to wine consumers and the patterns in wine business to guide product portfolio management practices.

Wolf Blass Scholarship Recipients

2025

Tammie Matthews

“Utilising Category Entry Points to Address Category Growth Potential” This research is currently being undertaken. Tammie will investigate if category user profiles differ and addressing whether ‘younger buyers’ are different, considering the concerns and trends that they consume alcoholic beverages less often.

2023

Jorja Solly

“Patterns in Australian Wine SMEs’ Product Portfolios” This thesis investigates product portfolio management (PPM) within the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Australian wine industry. The research explicitly links the marketing perspective to PPM to improve the currently limited understanding of PPM for Australian wine SMEs. The findings of this research translates actionable guidelines for wine brand managers so they have evidence to answer their question about whether to increase their portfolio or invest in hero products.

2020

Jakob Mesidis

“A bottle by any other name: What effect do product and messaging attributes have on the choice of low-carbon wine packaging?” Glass bottles account for 66% of wine’s carbon emissions and are heavy, inefficient to transport, and export. While lower-emission packaging alternatives exist, little is known about consumer preferences for them. This research identifies which formats, price points, brands, and messages can drive consumer adoption, helping the industry shift toward more sustainable packaging.

2018

Tayla Jeffery

“Benchmarking branding practices in the Australian wine industry” This research was sparked by Wolf Blass observing a rise in inconsistently branded wine packaging, alongside examples of brands effectively leveraging consistent branding across products. Given that consumers spend little time making purchase decisions, quick brand recognition is crucial. Wine labels not only convey brand identity but also share key product attributes such as region, variety, and vintage, which influence choice. By developing benchmarks for branding and attribute use on labels, this research aims to guide the Australian wine industry in designing labels that maximise brand impact.

2016

Ann-Marie Azzurro

“The value of a brand: a wine retailers perspective” This research investigates how wine retailers manage their categories and the role of brands from a retailer’s perspective, providing SMEs with insights to better prioritise marketing efforts and improve competitiveness.

Over the last two decades, there’s been an explosion in marketing science, primarily led by Australia’s groundbreaking and globally lauded Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, based at the University of South Australia (now Adelaide University).

- CEO Magazine, 12th June 2024