Mollydooker Readies 2006 Vintage for USA

Mollydooker Background Story

Sarah and Sparky Marquis are two of Australia’s elite winemakers; both left handed and so both Mollydookers. A “mollydooker” is a “left-hander”, in Aussie speak. Sarah and Sparky met in college pursuing a degree in oenology; aka winemaking. Soon after graduation they married and started on a path creating a stellar career making award winning wines for Fox Creek, Shirvington, Parson’s Flat and Integrity. This husband and wife team has created some of the highest scored red wines from Australia as per noted wine critic Robert Parker Jr.

Who would have guessed that their partnership in 2000 with The Grateful Palate and the creation of the critically acclaimed “Marquis-Philips” brand would bring such heartache and near financial ruin? Producing over 100,000 cases a year the Marquis Philips brand exceeded everyone expectations in the US market offering quality wines with prices around $15 a bottle. Their wines were named a “best value” by the wine press and flew off the retail shelves. All seemed to be going gangbusters when the train “ran off the tracks” due to differences of vision.

The Phoenix - Mollydooker Rises

Spring is a time of rebirth. The Mollydooker story, like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, is an example of two passionate people who did not give up on their dream and their talents. When their partnership with the Grateful Palate ended, Sarah and Sparky were left with grower contracts, their reputations, and not much else..

Marshalling their closest friends for counsel, Sarah and Sparky developed a strategy to produce wines under their own brand. Their painful lesson of a partnership failure forged their commitment to work as an independent winery. Mortgaging their home, leveraging their assets , supported both financially and emotionally by their loyal growers and staff, and with business guidance from Philadelphia based Jeremy Allen they created the Mollydooker brand in 2005. What Sarah and Sparky did not know was that their risk taking was soon to be rewarded.

The First Mollydooker Vintage

The 2005 Australian vintage, their first release under the Mollydooker brand, landed in the US in May 2006. One month later, Robert Parker scored their “Boxer Shiraz” 95/100 points; an amazing score for a wine priced at $20 a bottle. The other Mollydooker wines received 92+ point scores; a great confirmation that their desire to run their own winery and brand was not a pipe dream.

The “Parker Effect” came at the perfect time, coinciding with the launch of the Mollydooker brand . The article and the consumer demand created by Sarah and Sparky’s past wine projects resulted in the entire US allocation of their 2005 vintage being sold in just 8 weeks. With additional blessings from the “wine gods”, their two premium wines received 96 and 99 points from Robert Parker in the fall of 2006. These $60 premium wines became immediate cult collector wines and the buzz about this new project filled wine blogs and chat around the Internet.

Adding fuel to the fire was the coverage Mollydooker received from Harvey Steiman and the Wine Spectator. Their 2005 Boxer Shiraz was placed in the Top 100 wines of the world; ranked #68 out of 100. To have their first vintage considered as one of the top 100 wines of the world was more than Sarah and Sparky could have ever expected.

The New Mollydooker Wines and Vintage Labels

One of the most interesting aspects of the Mollydooker project is the design of the wine labels created by a local Australian graphics design firm “Mash Design”. The studio's design for Mollydooker wine labels was awarded a "Pinnacle" - the highest recognition available at the biennial Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) awards. The labels are fun, comical and force passersby to take notice when placed on a wine shelf. Not that too many bottles of Mollydooker are sitting on retail shelves.

Sarah and Sparky started bottling their 2006 vintage in March and the final products will be in retail stores in June of 2007. The 2006 vintage allocation has already been completely taken up by the retail market; quite a remarkable feat when you consider that just a year ago their futures were held in the balance.

There will be five new wines added to their portfolio this year which are:

• The Scooter Merlot – suggested retail $20
• Gigglepot Cabernet - suggested retail $50
• The Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz suggested retail $50
• Goosebumps Sparkling Shiraz suggested retail $50
• Velvet Glove Shiraz suggested retail $175

Sarah has sent www.weloveshiraz the first exclusive photos of their new labels. From what we have been given to date, the new additions for the 2006 portfolio are taking a black and white twist featuring their two children and a flock of geese. Speaking with Sarah, here is what she had to say about the labels:

“All of our existing labels are very colorful and illustrated so to do something different we decided to do a Black & White photo series. After finding some Geese running around in the winery for Goosebumps we decided to name the last two wines after our two children. So being creative we organized a photo shoot set in the early 20th century of our daughter Holly, the Gigglepot and our Blue Eyed Boy, Luke. The kids had a ball as you can imagine.”

Building on Success

Faced with overwhelming demand for their well priced and well scored wines, Sarah and Sparky launched their winery direct website in February of 2007. Their easy to remember website: www.mollydookerwines.com sold over a million dollars worth of wine in just 6 weeks. Readers who would like to have access to their highly allocated wines should visit their website and order directly from the winery. You can also signup for the mailing list to be notified on upcoming wine releases and news from the vineyard manager on upcoming vintages.

Mollydooker Wine Tastings Across the USA

Sarah and Sparky will be coming into New Jersey and New York to conduct wine tastings showcasing their new wines. If you would like to participate in one of the events, make sure you are signed up for my newsletter. I will be the contact point to coordinate these local tastings so my readers can get first crack at tasting these exciting new wines.

Their story of rebirth is an inspiration for those who have attempted their dream and have experienced difficulties. The moral here is not to give up but to pick yourself up and pursue your dreams. You don’t have to be a Mollydooker to be successful; but in this case it sure helped to create a brand that is hard to forget.