Moss Wood winery sits in the heart of Willyabrup, some of the world's finest wine grape growing land. From this relatively low profile boutique winery come some of the country's best premium wines.

The winery was established by Dr Bill and Sandra Pannell, who began planting the vineyard in 1969, after being influenced by the ground-breaking Gladstones report. They set out to establish a specialist, high-quality winery. Situated on a gentle, north-east facing slope with excellent soils, the vineyard covers about nine hectares.

In 1976, the winery was to change the region's fortunes when the Pannells won the first gold medal for a South West winery in the open class at the Perth Wine Show. It was really the beginning of a growing awareness in wine circles that there was something very special about the fledgling Margaret River Wine Region.

The present owners, Keith and Clare Mugford, have been involved in Moss Wood since 1979, when Keith arrived as a winemaker. Originally from the McLaren Vale wine region in South Australia, Keith was introduced to his first Margaret River wine in 1977 while a student studying winemaking at the renowned Roseworthy College. The wine just happened to be a 1977 Moss Wood Semillon.

The Mugfords purchased the property and business from the Pannells in 1985. The outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon is consistently ranked in Australia's top ten reds and is much in demand nationally and internationally. The Moss Wood Pinot, Chardonnay and Semillon are also highly appealing.

The Mugfords are driven by their belief that all decisions made in the vineyard or at the winery are based on the effect they will have on the quality of the wine. Keith is always on the lookout for new innovations and techniques to improve colour, flavour and complexity in the wines. We don't mind saying the formula is working like a dream.

Readers will be delighted to know that we have just acquired a vertical dozen of Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that is rated among the top 10 reds in Australia. The dozen spans the years from 1984 - 1995. Contact Ron Macfarlane at the Wine Centre if you are interested in this rare offer.