Vintage crew 2018

Our 2018 vintage crew have been rolling in since the beginning of January and they are a very scholarly bunch.

Tristan Mugford is back full time in the Moss Wood fold, following 6 years away, studying at Adelaide University and then working on the Mornington Peninsula.

Also returning is another Adelaide University alumnus, Simon Nankivell, who helped us in 2016 and then spent 2017 in the Napa Valley at Anomaly Vineyards. The big fire presented some challenges but he’s confident they’ve made good wines that aren’t smoke-tainted. Being a small producer, processing only 32 tonnes, they picked as the fire started and got their fruit in before the valley filled with smoke.

We also have some “cucumbers” (Cowaramup fishing slang for newcomers).

Luca Tessari from Borgo-Ticino in Piedmont is currently finishing his degree in Viticulture and Oenology at University of Milan. Amongst other places, he has worked for Domaine de Seguin Manuel in Beaune and Francesco Brigatti at Suno in Barolo. Luca is a thoughtful bloke, who came to wine while travelling in India, where he decided he needed to work in something that involved nature. Upon returning to Italy, he tried some amateur winemaking and became hooked.

Emilie Paquette is a native of Ottawa, Ontario and a Bachelor of Commerce, with majors in Marketing and Consumer Studies, from the University of Guelph. Her interest in wine was sparked when she took the Wine and Oenology elective at Guelph and gained her WSET level 2. This has sent her on quite a journey and seen her work in Australia at Wirra Wirra, as well as Rupert and Rothschild in South Africa. She has recently been accepted into the Wine Program at Niagara College, Ontario (by the Falls) studying viticulture and oenology.

Caroline Caillaud hails from Vertou near Nantes and holds a National diploma of Agricultural Engineering from Bordeaux Sciences Agro and a National Diploma Oenology from the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne and du Vin. Caroline, whose interest in wine, oddly for a French person, was sparked by a Chilean wine, likes the combination of vineyard and winery work at Moss Wood, especially because she wants to be “polyvalent”, as they say in French!

Marie Charlemagne, is from of Le Mesnil Sur Oger in Champagne and her family have 16 hectares in Cote de Blanc at Champagne Guy Charlemagne. Their domaine is named after the founder, her grandfather and they produce 150,000 bottles annually. Marie holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from AgroParisTech and will shortly finish her second, a degree in Viticulture and Oenology SupAgro in Montpellier. Marie is keen to build her work experience and bring those skills home to work at the family property.

Hannah Beattie, a native of Banbridge, Northern Ireland, is yet another smarty pants, who holds a Master of Arts from the University of Glasgow, with a distinction in spoken French. Her wine interest led her to do the WSET exams and she has almost completed her level 4 diploma. Until her resignation to come on this adventure to Australia, she worked for the very famous Avery’s of Bristol, where she was a Senior Account Manager in private customer sales. It’s nice to have an Avery’s person join us because the late, legendary John Avery was a visitor to Moss Wood in the early years and in recent years visits by his wife and daughter to Moss Wood have continued a contact that we appreciate.

Apart from Emilie, who is on her fourth trip to Australia, the others are on their first trip and report they’re enjoying the people, the beaches and the weather. They are also finding our version of English amusing and challenging but seem to be coping with the local lingo!