What can you tell me about the history of Moss Wood?

Clare: ‘Moss Wood came about because it was of interest to Bill and Sandra Pannell, after a paper, written by a Dr John Gladstones, who was an agronomist at the University of Western Australia about the consistency of the climate in the Margaret River region. So, his paper informed the first few people who planted in Margaret River. Moss Wood was planted in 1969, making it the second commercial vineyard in the area. It was the first winery to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in the region. By 1979, the Pannell’s felt that they needed a qualified winemaker, so they brought in Keith who had just graduated from Roseworthy college in South Australia, which is famous for striving winemakers and viticulturists. Bill Hardy, who was famous in wine and viticulture, suggested hiring Keith to take over as winemaker. So, they did! They interviewed Keith in Adelaide and he thought it would be a good idea to make wine in Margaret River because he could go surfing and make interesting wine! When Keith and I met, the Pannell’s had always talked about a partnership with Keith, as the Pannell’s had four young children. By that time Keith and I were thinking of getting married, and wondering what we were going to do next, Keith approached the Pannell’s and agreed to lease the vineyard. They went off on holiday, and after six months they came back and asked us if we would like to buy it. As we were only 24 and 26, we thought it was going to be difficult. However, they came up with a good plan, so in 1985 we bought the vineyard and we have added to plantings since; it has been an interesting learning curve for me, it was a complete career change, but we found it challenging and interesting too!’

Keith: ‘We bought Moss Wood in 1985, and then by the end of the 1990s we had four children. If the four of them wanted to be involved in the business, then Moss Wood wouldn’t have been big enough to accommodate all their interest. And so we looked around, and in the end we had a discussion with John James who had established Ribbon Vale Vineyard, a little bit younger than Moss Wood, 1977 was its first planting, but Ribbon Vale was very similar to Moss Wood with similar vines and similar soils, slightly different plantings, the varieties were slightly different, Moss Wood was growing Semillon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon. Ribbon Vale was growing Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. So, John was happy, and in 2000 we bought Ribbon Vale, so in total now we have around 23 hectares between us.’

What is the story behind the labels?

Keith: ‘The original Moss Wood label which was designed in 1973, which was when the ownership was still under Bill and Sandra Pannell, was all about simplicity. All it had on it was who made the wines, what the vintage was, where the vineyard was located, and that was basically it. You can go down different routes with wine labels, you can choose colourful designs with pictures or you can have something relatively plain, but is simple and easy to read, which is what we went for. Our favourite Bordeaux wine at the time was Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, and Pichon is the classic simple printed label with gold foil, with no doubt about who made it or where its from, and so the original Moss Wood label was inspired by Pichon Lalande! Family crest, Cabernet Sauvignon 1973 and it was that simple, and that is where the label began, and it’s similar to where it is now, but we’ve had to change it quite extensively over the years because of the regulatory environment. Back in 1973 Moss Wood only sold in Australia and then it was so straightforward! It was easier to get the legally required items on the labels. Now it 2018, Moss Wood is sold all around the world and it has to comply with the regulatory environments. Moss Wood is an English name. There is a farm in Cheshire here in England. Bill Pannel’s parents were regular visitors to the UK and it was a friend of his who loaned them Moss Wood in Cheshire. Bill and Sandra liked the name so much, they wrote to the people in Cheshire to ask them if they could use the name for their vineyard. So, Moss Wood became an Australian name as well! It’s a name that people seem to like! They like the name and they like the wine, and we put that down to its simplicity, it’s easy to say, easy to remember, and Moss Wood actually has a pretty connotation with it, if you say it out loud, you think of trees and undergrowth, which is actually what it’s like!’

What type of food pairs best with your wines?

Clare: ‘I think it’s interesting because we’ve just been tasting all our current wines, the Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and our Amy’s wine, and each one of them has fresh primary fruit aromas and flavours that might pair well with fruits. Sauvignon Blanc with fruits that are limes or gooseberries, Semillon with figs and apples, Chardonnay with peaches, nectarines or nuts, Pinot Noir with plums or red fruit, Merlot is really interesting because it would go well with black or blue fruits, blackcurrants or blueberries, and the Cabernet with red fruit. All of those wines have savoury characters that would allow them to be paired with savoury foods. The limes and the gooseberries in the Sauvignon Blanc would pair nicely with fish or seafood, the Semillon would be very nice with pork or chicken and scallops, Chardonnay goes very well with pork or chicken or turkey or anything nutty. You can’t go wrong with pork or turkey with cranberry sauce with Pinot Noir! Merlot has so really olivaceous notes, yesterday I had spaghetti puttanesca and it would have been really good with that, picking up the anchovies and the olives. Our Cabernet I think you could do rich meats, beef, cheeses and chocolate!’

Keith: ‘Everything! I reckon you can eat anything with any white, and the way I think about it is; if I’m going out for dinner, then I look at the menu, see what dishes I want to try and look at the wine list and see what wines I want to try and I don’t really every try and match them, and I don’t really care to, I just try and enjoy them as they are. I’m happy to drink wine with spicy food, with Asian cuisine, even Szechuan food, something really spicy, like a hot Thai curry, or even central Asian like an Indian curry. I don’t have any problem with people pairing their wines, but I’m happy for Moss Wood to be enjoyed with anything!’