Vintage news March 2021 – March 19th, 2021

2021 GROWING SEASON

At the time of writing, vintage 2021 has just got underway with our first pick of Pinot Noir on 1st March. The season has been generally very good to us, if somewhat mild. We had good rains right through spring but we avoided any serious problems with the weather. Mother Nature was in a benign mood and spared us strong winds and hail, although there was one day where she flexed her muscles with the latter but allowed us to get through largely unscathed. Let that be a warning to you appears to have been her message.

The lesson came on 6th February when a cyclone remnant delivered just over 80mm rain and we held our breath for a week or so while we waited to see if we developed any disease. Coming fairly late in the season, as it did, meant the fruit on the early varieties was quite soft and so splitting was a risk. In the end, our spray program worked and damage was minimal. Some berries popped off in the Pinot Noir and there was some splitting in the Semillon, but that was the extent of things, so there were smiles all round. In trying to explain our good fortune, it seems we’re helped by our gravelly soils, which allow the water to drain away fairly quickly, reducing uptake by the vines and also the humidity in the vineyard.

Aside from the above, it has been a very mild summer and so the vines have ripened slowly and we find ourselves waiting patiently for each one to mature. Looking at recent seasons, the temperatures have been slightly warmer than 2017 but slightly cooler than 2018, so we are looking forward to good quality.

VINTAGE CREW

Despite the difficulties caused by Covid-19 and the ever-changing Western Australian border situation, we have been lucky enough to assemble a good bunch of people to help us through the vintage. There were times when we’ve wondered whether we’d find anyone who was able to join us but things have worked out well.

Courtney Plowman is this year’s Adelaide University Oenology student doing her 4th year industry placement. Courtney’s arrival confirms how small the world is. She hails from Golden Grove, a north-eastern suburb of Adelaide, where Keith has a strong family connection. When a South Australian meets another Croweater, it’s fairly certain there will be, at most, 2 degrees of separation. This was further confirmed when we learned Courtney’s Mum is from Western Australia and so she has many local cousins, proving very useful from an accommodation point of view, something that is scarce in our region at the moment. More importantly, Courtney and her Dad had come to visit Moss Wood during a family holiday in 2005 and we’re pleased to learn we looked after them well and she has fond memories and was keen to come and work. As a keen AFL footballer, she plays with the Eagles in Adelaide and has continued to train here with the Busselton Magpies. Alex and Hugh are barely able to tolerate this since both play for reigning Onshore Cup premiers, Dunsborough Muelies, and who’s fiercest rivals are the Busselton Bombers. Luckily, they can still find it within themselves to enjoy a chat over lunch. Just don’t mention the footy.

Local boy, Tom Hansen, drives up each day from Karridale, down in the deep south of the Margaret River region. We like to remind him how nice it must be to leave behind all the fog and drizzle and enjoy some sunshine and warmth up in Wilyabrup. Tom is an Agricultural Science graduate from the University of Western Australia, with a particular interest in soils and soil management. Coming from a wine area, he also has an interest in viticulture and is enjoying, so far at least, the practical aspects of the Moss Wood vineyard and winery. UWA Agriculture has provided some well-known alumni into our industry, not the least of whom is Dr John Gladstones. If Tom stays in the wine game, he’ll be a worthy addition to a very distinguished list. We say this, despite him being a rabid Dockers fan. Alex and Frank now have another Fremantle supporter to back them up against the West Coast-dominated lunch room. We forgive him for that.

Next on the list is Ana Hranilovic, or more precisely, Dr Ana Hranilovic PhD, who brings a very impressive CV. Ana is Croatian and studied Horticulture at the University of Zagreb then took her Masters, part of which she completed at Montpellier University in France. It was at this very famous viticulture institution that she picked up an interest in vines and after working in France, was accepted into the Doctoral program offered by the Australian Research Council at the Australian Wine Research Institute in Adelaide, where her thesis investigated low alcohol-producing yeast strains. Ana is focused on the practical application of science and enjoys seeing the commercialisation of new technologies. To this end, she’s working with the big French wine industry supplier, Laffort, to see a new yeast strain released to winemakers and we have agreed to trial it at Moss Wood this year. The vintage completes her time in Australia and we’re very fortunate she’s decided to make Moss Wood her swansong. In the meantime, we’re still trying to work out why she’d rather live in Bordeaux than Margaret River. Go figure.

Martin McQuone was involved with the hospitality industry in the UK until he moved to Western Australia in 2012, where he worked for a year with Old Kent River winery, in the Great Southern Region. From there he joined Old Bridge Cellars in North Fremantle and got involved with the retail selling side of wine. He enjoyed the change and during his stint there he qualified to Level 3 with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. His enthusiasm for wine was set but Marty is also good with his hands and working in carpentry took him into events management. He has worked quite widely in the Fringe Festivals, including Edinburgh. After a stint with the Adelaide Fringe, he wanted to move back to Western Australia and was expecting to work with the Perth Fringe on his way to Moss Wood, when Covid-19 made yet another disruption. Mark McGowan closed the state border and the best laid plans of mice and men turned to mush. Luckily for us he has made his way through the quarantine maze and is now applying some of his events management expertise to the Fringe comedy, otherwise known as the Moss Wood vintage.

Last, but certainly not least, we welcome Ida Mosberg, who joined us in January to help fill the shoes of our much-loved Bonnie Tollafield. Ida is Danish and has just completed her Master of Wine Business at Adelaide University. She brings with her a range of experience which includes retailing, courtesy of working in her Mum’s wine business, Vinspecialisten Mosberg, at Gilleleje, about an hour’s drive from Copenhagen. While at Adelaide University she worked in the Barossa Valley at Barossa Wine and Grape, the industry body for the Barossa Valley grapegrowers and winemakers, helping in administration. While up that way, she also worked for the famous Rockford Estate in their cellar door but she loves the practical side of wine production and worked in the vineyard as well. Ida has wasted no time getting stuck in at Moss Wood, dealing with customers and helping out with the vintage. When we give her time, she even seems to be enjoying the Margaret River lifestyle. A friendly and engaging soul, Ida always brings a friendly face and engages with her workmates. Unless we needle her with a bit of northern European humour. As a proud Dane, she doesn’t take kindly to being mistaken as a German.