The Partnership
Keith Mugford talks about coming to the Margaret River region, the planting of the first vines at Moss Wood, and finding the perfect partner.
"You’ve got to admire someone who is willing to make a big call. In 1966 agronomist Dr John Gladstones raised the idea that Margaret River had the potential to match the wine growing greats such as Bordeaux. He influenced a handful of visionaries, and they started planting vines. The expectation for the Margaret River region, based on John’s original research, was that it would be a good area to grow the Bordeaux varieties, and in particular Cabernet Sauvignon. It was on this basis that the original Moss Wood vineyard was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon vines in 1969, first vintage 1973, with the intention of producing truly great wines. It was a surprisingly very good start!
As a final year Oenology student at Roseworthy College, I had heard of the exciting new region of Margaret River but had never tasted any wines. This was until a dinner in 1978 with two Western Australian colleagues, John Elliott of the Western Australian Dept. of Agriculture and Dr Michael Peterkin, now the famous owner and winemaker of Pierro. John brought a bottle of the Moss Wood 1977 Semillon. I was really impressed and noted I should look out for Moss Wood wines in the future. In a remarkable coincidence, later that year I was offered the chance to work there.
The attraction for me of Margaret River was not merely grapes and wine, but great surf as well. It was a bonus to get a job working at Moss Wood. I had studied winemaking and now I had the perfect job working both in the vineyard and as a winemaker.
It felt like my life could not get any better and then it did! In 1983 I met Clare. She already had a career and a circle of friends in the city. I still do not quite know how I convinced her to leave it all behind.
I knew I had found a great life partner. What I did not know at the time was the full extent of the skills Clare would bring with her to Moss Wood. She is a rare combination. She is a scientific thinker with an equally strong sense of the aesthetic. We would need these skills to carry on a world class winery.
The transition for Clare was not without its challenges. She had a new job she wasn’t trained to do. There were few women in the industry. You could not even buy women’s work boots at that time. Despite this Clare worked and studied with great determination. She has gifts that enhance our viticulture, winemaking and delivery of our wine to market. I now realise how incredibly lucky I was to find her.
If you look at successful marriages, the couple often bring complementary skills. I have a technical skill set, I know about growing grapes and making wine. Clare brings the focus and strict methods of her nursing training, a scientific approach and tremendous drive. We work as a close team, and it is a lot of fun.
We were presented with an incredible opportunity to take on Moss Wood in 1984. It was already producing high quality wine when we took charge. It was incumbent on us to assume the responsibility for maintaining and building on that success. It was daunting and exciting. We were committed to making the finest wines, with uncompromising quality.
Looking back nearly seventy years at John Gladstone’s big call about the promise of the Margaret River region - it was right on the money!”
Keith Mugford