Sparky Marquis was a successful professional photographer when dad lined up his five kids and told them that if any of them were prepared to learn winemaking or viticulture they would inherit his award winning vineyard and winery. The Langtons listed Fox Creek. Sparky remembered how much he liked drinking wine and stepped forward. Sparky and lovely young wife Sarah went to work, built a new winery and introduced their Vineyard Watering Programme, achieving exceptional quality fruit, devoting long hours to perfecting their winemaking.
Sparky and Sarah were successful and super busy, happily working together with son Luke, sleeping in bassinet among the vines. They created a virtual winery by helping their grower friends to grow exceptional quality grapes with the Marquis Vineyard Watering Programme. Then they made wines from those grapes in the back of their winemaker friends wineries. They were enormously successful. In 1999 they became Australian Winemakers of the Year. In 2002 they won the Bushing Award for a record breaking third time and in the USA Robert Parker commented The greatest red wine values in existence. Run, don't walk and secure as much as you can of these wines!
The Marquis Philips brand was a runaway success, growing from 8000 to 120,000 cases in four years. There was talk of growing bigger still. Then one day, Sarah and Sparky took stock and decided that it was not the life they wanted to lead. They love the vineyards, love making wine, and love sharing with friends. They didn't want to become corporate, they decided to go it alone and stay small and hands on.
Sparky Marquis loves his vines, and for the three months before harvest you will find him sitting under the gum trees with the viticulture team, squashing the grapes and tasting the juices, to work out how much water should be put on the vines in the next half week, and when the grapes should be picked.
In 2006 they named their new brand Mollydooker, Aussie for left hander, because they are both left handed. Three months later, The Wine Advocate chose The Boxer as the Best Value Red Wine in the World, the Two Left Feet as the second, and the Maitre D as the fourth. The Violinist was chosen the Best Value White Wine in the world. The wines sold out in nineteen days, and all Mollydooker's debts were paid off. A mere eighteen months after being down to their last $17, Sarah and Sparky were able to buy a beautiful winery with stunning views, 114 acres of vineyards along the magic Seaview Ridge in McLaren Vale, home of most of the most iconic McLaren Vale wines.
Mollydooker never take shortcuts or compromise on quality. They guarantee the quality of their wine by rating it on its Marquis Fruit Weight, the measure of how far back on your tongue the velvety sensation of fruit goes, before the prickly sensation of tannin is exposed. If they don't have parcels which qualify at the required Fruit Weight, they don't bottle wine behind the Mollydooker label. Sarah and Sparky have never forgotten their roots, they fund three Mollydooker Houses in Cambodia which provide education for 300 children and food for families. They also support Chester County Futures and mentoring for underprivileged children, Mercy Ministries and The Hutt Street Centre in Australia, which is a safe place of hope, warmth and belonging, for the homeless and vulnerable people in the inner city of Adelaide. Sarah and Sparky do a lot of partying, so look out for Mollydooker nights in your town!
