Generation 3 - Fiddle Potts

Born at Bleasdale on June 1st 1899, Henry (Fiddle) Leonard Potts was the
7th child of Frank Potts II. Fiddle spent his early years at
Bleasdale working in the vineyards and around the winery.

Shooting and fishing were Fiddle's great passion and like many of the Potts boys he became a renowned marksmen, even winning a State Pigeon shooting title at age 21.

Upon his mothers death in 1935 parts of the Bleasdale estate were split off and given to her sons. Fiddle was given title to 45 acres of land which Bleasdale had purchased in 1900 and which his descendents still farm today. The revered fruit grown in this vineyard, the Meechi Vineyard, is utilised in Ben Potts Wines today.

Some of the land was already planted to verdelho, shiraz, and malbec. Fiddle continued to farm this fruit and add some small plantings of grenache and frontignac.

During his later years Fiddle helped his sons start to redevelop the property to new vines. He instigated supplementary irrigation practices, for when the Bremer didn’t naturally burst it’s banks and flood down the vine rows, bringing it’s life giving waters and nutrients.

Fiddle will always be remembered as a kind and gentle man who lived life at an easy pace and had a love of growing things. His excellent horticultural skills of nurturing vines, fruit trees and vegetables is a legacy which he passed onto son Lenny and Grandson Bill. He also had foresight and vision beyond his time. It was Fiddle who sold the first parcel of Langhorne Creek Grapes to a young Wolf Blass. The rest as they say, is history.