1st Hand Comments: 2010

We've been so inspired by the comments from our friends, that we want to share them with you.

Read More from: 20092008 | 2007
...................................................................................................
'Many thanks to Russell for taking the time to show Mark and I around. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and the tour was a highlight of the trip.  As an aside, we ran across another one of your employees (Aurie) with his girlfriend and had a great conversation while enjoying the view at Samuels Gorge. Compliments to all of Mollydooker team for their superb effort at producing a fine product!' - Robert MacKenzie

'
Though we spent four days touring and tasting our way through South Australia, visiting terrific wineries in the Clare and Barossa Valleys and McClaren Vale, the highlight of our trip was clearly Mollydooker.  We had a terrific tour with Andrew, tasting from several barrels along the way and ending with a tasting that included pretty much all of your red wines, including the Velvet Glove.  The tasting was spectacular, and when finished, we were given the rest of two bottles to take to a BYO for dinner.  This was totally unexpected, extremely generous, and greatly appreciated. Please pass our sincere thank you to the people who hosted us last Wednesday, as they made us feel very special.'- Dr. Kim Dunnick, New York

'Greetings from Houston! Blue Eyed Boy did not disappoint and Paul was thrilled with his surprise. Kudos on the attention to detail of your shipper, since I was impressed to see cold packs in the case leaving nothing to chance.
Sharing the amazing wine with friends and toasting our delightful experience at Molly Dooker.' - Sybil Margaritis, Texas

Joe from Winesmash reviews the 2009 Boxer
‘Here is our first review/video of the 2009 Boxer! We LOVED it! It's so big, but smooth.... the video says it all. I'll be posting the other boxers 05, 06, 07, and 08 in the coming week. Thank you so much for these wines! I love how much they are changing as they age in the bottle!  Fantastic!’ – Joe Hendricks, www.winesmash.com



 
Our good friends Curt & Linda Lumsden share their holiday snaps with us
- Nevis Island, Caribbean
        

'
I just wanted to tell you how nice it was for Sarah to personally call to thank me for joining the wine club.  At first, I couldn’t figure out who it was or what they wanted because it was so out of context and so unexpected.  Once I realized it, I was floored – that is customer attention to the Nth degree.  Your service is as good as your wine!  We look forward to a long and tasty relationship with Mollydooker.  Love your wine, your creativity and love the screwtops.  I am really becoming a convert to screwtops.  May not be as elegant but seems superior to cork in almost every other way. Thanks again for the call.' - Keith Landenberger

'I'm new to NC from Germany. I've been in Europe for over 7 years and I've had my share of excellent wines, but Molly Dooker is one of our personal favorites. My boyfriend gave me the first bottle which was the Two Left Feet about a year ago and we've been hooked since then with your wines. An expression that my boyfriend and I share lovingly on chosen weekends is: Time to get Molly D'd!! :)  Thank you again for the response and I'm very happy we'll be able to get these again on our end. It's always a pleasure enjoying your wine with our family and friends.' - Cristina Page, North Carolina

'My Downunder friends:
I’d like to just say that in addition to making some of the finest wine on earth, your customer service is second to none.  Although I am far from a wine expert or critic, your friendly, family-oriented approach makes me feel like someone special.  In addition to the warm emails and invites to events, I even received a personal phone call direct from Australia (I’m in Virginia, USA) to thank me for my recent order and had a nice friendly chat about the weather amongst other things. Mollydooker is the only wine I ever order by the case, and the care you show for your customers only adds to the warm, tingly feeling that I get from sipping a glass of your wine. Thank you! P.S. Just finished off a 2005 bottle of The Boxer that we opened last night to celebrate my birthday.  It was absolutely perfect!' - Jason Wheeler, Virginia

When wine website Snooth sent out an e-article about decanting wines, our good mate Wanderlush-Tim tells readers of the Mollydooker shake - Thanks Tim!
'Have you ever performed the Mollydooker shake? No, it's not some arcane Irish two step. Actually, it's Sparky Marquis' method for opening and oxygenating his Mollydooker wines (Australia). It's similar to decanting in that you open the bottle and pour off a small portion of the wine; recap...and using your left hand ("Mollydooker" in Australian) shake several times with the bottle inverted, and then reopen. A small amount of CO2 builds up inside from the agitation and forms a "head" in the top of the bottle. You can really taste the difference between your original pour of wine (pre-shaking) and the oxygenated pour (post shaking). I learned this from Sparky Marquis himself during a tasting last summer. Try it if you get a chance, you won't be disappointed. Cheers!'
- 'Glad I could help spread the word about the most unique decanting/aeration method known to man...and not to mention, plugging one of the most amazing wines my wife and I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. I'm looking forward to trying the new vintage of the Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz when it becomes available in our area.' -Tim

'Thank you, thank you, thank you! Velvet Glove is the most amazing wine we have tried. We look forward to you all touring the U.S. and hope to catch you all in Florida! Again, many thanks!' - Steve and Ashley Kopman,

Mike Wolfe sent us in a picture of his beautiful dog 'Dooker'. 


'I would like to say how very unexpected and lovely it was to receive a message from Mollydooker in regards to ordering the winemaker's dozen. It was so nice to receive a kind message from half around the world in Australia.  Clearly now it is not only the outstanding wines, but the incredible level of customer service that makes Mollydooker my favorite wine. I can hardly wait until it ships in August, I am counting down the days! Luckily I have a good stock of your wines to tide me over until then! Best wishes' - Elizabeth Ann Kivlan, New York

'Howdy Sparky, Sarah and the rest of the Mollydooker Team! Once again thanks for keeping me informed. Since I have no life, I just wait by the computer and live vicariously through your e-mails. As a loyal reader and sometimes imbiber, I feel it is my duty to let you know that I was a bit disappointed with a recent response from the Helping Hand team. In your last e-mail you stated “If you need any help, contact our smiley Helping Hand team, and they will look after you.” Well I did exactly that and was mortified to learn they would not come over to help me move a refrigerator, mow the lawn, or read poetry to my Jack Russell; Bijou (she just loves Shelly).  So that others do not make the same error as I did, perhaps you should add the sentence “If you need any help with our wine….” That should clear things up and avoid any future confusion. As always I am glad to be of service as your unofficial US marketing guru and customer service advisor.' - Rick Krupnick

Wine Blogger Jim Becker road-tests the 2008 Two Left Feet
'Three nights ago, I embarked on a mission. I wanted to see if I could 'break' the the 2008 Mollydooker Two Left Feet.  In other words, I wanted to see if I could cook up something bold and spicy just to find out if the Two Left Feet would hold up...' Read the whole article

'My husband, Steve, and I had a fabulous trip to Australia last month and one of the biggest highlights was our afternoon at Mollydooker. It’s embarrassing that it’s taken so long to write and thank you for letting us join you and your team for the daily wine analysis. It's an experience we'll remember for a long time!  The experience also gave Steve confidence in his palate – he never fully trusted it or expressed what he was tasting until someone else said it first. We feel really lucky to have had a chance to hang out with you, learn and taste. Leigh gave us a terrific vineyard tour and answered a ton of questions and Peter gave us a great tasting and cellar tour. The whole afternoon was awesome. We’ve always loved your wines, but now have an extra reason why. By the way, the first bottle we opened when we got home was “Two Left Feet.” Thanks again – it was an incredible experience! Hope to see you somewhere in the States or on our return to South Australia.' - Carol Sadler & Steve Geimann

'I have been very impressed with the M.D service( you and the Napa location and even more so with the arrival of the V.G.
Its a pity you cannot sell M.D in Ontario, Canada as for sure you would have a very appreciative clientele.
Looking forward tasting V.G with Kirsteen who introduced me to M.D when she picked up some when she was visiting San Fran in 2009. Looking forward to your 2009 V.G vintage. Best Regards.' - Les Burton, Canada

'The 2008 Mollydooker Shiraz is a natural. This is a wonderful wine... filled with bold flavors of blackberry, black licorice, and black cherry.... drank very nicely with the blackened steak!' - Jim Becker, Beckerjim's Uncorked Wine Blog 

'Hi Janet, The event was a huge hit and there was a line at the Mollydooker booth the entire evening. The wines were all tasting amazing. We hope that this is the beginning of a great relationship. I wish you could have been here!' - Chris Hammond, Rock 'n Roll Wine, LLC www.rocknrollwine.com

'Just a quick note to tell you that my 2008 Boxer arrived and it's fabulous. We opened the first bottle with Sunday dinner, the 2008 was well worth waiting for. The 4 additional bottles (replacement for the 2007 bottles that leaked) also arrived and I'm very happy with them as well (they're 2008) :-).' - Orren Crouch, Georgia 

'This is a bit late but I wanted to thank you for all your help with our wine order and the phone calls! What fabulous customer service! Reagan and I received the wine and promptly opened a bottle of the Sip It Forward and loved it! In fact, we'll be ordering more wine tomorrow. :) Thanks again for all your help! It was appreciated.' - Shannon Smith, North Carolina


The Blackwood Wine Club enjoys a picnic at Mollydooker while Molly watches guard

'Thank you for the magnificent day that we spent with you (Janet) and Leigh last Sunday. An unusually large percentage of the membership has emailed me to say what a wonderful day they had. The educational part of the visit was second to none. We have spent a lot of time visiting wineries and vineyards as a club, but none of them were as interesting as Mollydooker and the techniques you use to create an amazing product. We all enjoyed your company a great deal and that alone would have made a delightful day, The members are still commenting to one another, and anyone else who will listen, what a great they had. We are very grateful for your time, your experiences and ability to convey your enthusiasm and knowledge, not to mention your generosity to us. We wish Mollydooker and you the very best future and hope to see you again in the near future.' - Graeme Scholz, Blackwood Wine Club

15 Mar 2010
Atlas Branding & Design - MOLLY DOOKER AMAZING WINE LABEL DESIGN
We’ve spent the last few weeks researching vintage packaging design and how modern companies like Mollydooker have integrated vintage/retro design into their businesses for a postmodern aesthetic. We love the genuine experience and feel this packaging gives the customer. They did a great job bringing their personality into their design.
Cheers to Molly Dooker!

12 Mar 2010
Drunken my inbox by Andrea Gonzalez
'Another email to love, or more so an email marketing strategy to applaud and encourage, belongs to Molly Dooker.... Molly Dooker's site is fresh, tangible and on-brand, and this email is a welcome reminder of how determined they are to break out of the wine industry mould.

Mollydooker features on Mike Carter’s Blog for Wine Packaging, Design & Marketing Insights. Read all about it - Serious About Wine

'My wife and I were both very impressed with this wine (2007 Blue Eyed Boy); a good introduction to your wines, I think.' - Don Perryman, California

‘I just want to update you on our opinion of Velvet Glove. My daughter and son-in-law visited us this weekend; both are wine enthusiasts, and we decided to have a “tasting.” As background information, in the past, we have all agreed that Bertani Amarone was our favorite wine. We tasted the Velvet Glove against a bottle of Blue Eyed Boy, and a great (in cost and reputation) cabernet from California, actually alternating glasses to make sure. The opinion was unanimous: Velvet Glove is one of, if not THE best wines we have ever tasted. I could go on and on, but you already know its virtues. To us, it was so full of fruit, full bodied, refined, with so many flavor layers, and even only aged as a 2007, was thrilling to drink. Blue Eyed Boy was a clear second place over the cabernet, which came in third. Yesterday, we placed an order for another mixed case, my second from you in only a week. In this case, we bought two bottles of Velvet Glove, to have for special occasions in the future. Congratulations on making such a world class wine!’ – Mike Breeden, Florida

‘It was so nice to get a phone call from you all! Thanks! That goes a long way here in the South East of the US. We like that type of attention to detail. I have forwarded your email to many of my friends in all 4 time zones in the US so hopefully more orders will come in. I was first introduced to Mollydooker wines in 2005 by my good friend and though my budget isn’t in the “Velvet Glove” level (yet), I’ll open a bottle of “The Boxer” with confidence anytime for clients and friends. Thanks again, and I look forward to the arrival of our order from the best winemakers in Australia.’ - Lancer Shull, South Carolina


Rennae Stubbs (AUS) and Lisa Raymond (USA) our Mollydooker Ambassadors after winning their first game at the Australian Open 2010

‘Since trying your wines over 2 years ago I have been hooked! They are without question my favorite wine of choice! Whenever someone needs a suggestion for a great wine I always steer them towards Mollydooker. The only problem is choosing which one to drink!! I am a huge fan of all of them, from the Boxer to the Blue Eyed Boy to my absolute favorite treat, The Carnival of Love. Just a couple weeks ago before I came over to OZ a friend of mine and myself were in a wine store in LA that we frequent who very rarely carry Mollydooker and on that day they had The Carnival-we bought every last one they had!!! Then there is my ultimate celebratory wine, The Velvet Glove which in my mind, is just pure perfection! Anyway, to say I am a HUGE fan is an understatement.’ – Lisa Raymond

‘We opened up an 05 Carnival of Love at a holiday party and pitted it against an 04 Leoville Las Cases and an 03 Delas Freres Cote Rotie. Even at a party heavily attended by French wine snobs, your wine received about 3/4 or so of the 1st place votes in the taste off (and everyone of the 'old world' snobs had very positive things to say). Keep up the good work. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oy, Oy, Oy!!!’ - John Lowery, Georgia

‘I congratulate you on consistently making great wine – and keeping the experience fun as well!!!! Last week, I found a bottle of 2006 Boxer in a friend’s cellar and we opened it… and couldn’t get enough. Keep up the great work and, yes… stay in touch’ – Jim Becker, California


‘As I reflect back on 2009, I realize that it was quite an incredible year. I wanted (Janet) and the Mollydooker family to know that your visit to Houston's Restaurant in Winter Park, FL was definitely a highlight for me. My name is Amy, I was your server that afternoon and just want to say Thank You again for making the trip and providing me with such a great memory. When I heard that the winemaker from Mollydooker was going to visit our store, I made sure that I would be there to serve you! If you recall, my husband and I bought a bottle of the Velvet Glove as a wedding gift to each other, and opened it on our 1st wedding anniversary.....very special!! …We love the fact that our favorite wines are produced with the love and passion of a married couple who seem very in touch with each other and their success together.’ - Amy Hornyak, New York

‘The customer service at Mollydooker is some of the best I've seen. And, I don't mean just when there are problems. You guys are great in following up on orders, and helping in any way you can. Thanks.’ – Keith Curtis, Virginia

Darrell from Canada tells us about his own Mollydooker tasting party:
‘Hello from the great white north. Well the Mollydooker tasting has come & gone. I have a short description to share with you along with one of the reviews & a modified placemat. Hope you don't mind. We had 7 couples at our tasting which turned out fantastic. We decided in the end to include a bottle of Goosebumps instead of the second Boxer & it really went over very well. The high quality of all the wines selected was the subject of much conversation. This tasting was probably a little more redneck than most but the laughter & hooting never stopped. Some said it was the most fun they had at a party for years and we converted one non wine drinker with 2 Left Feet. The comment cards that were left had the word "annual" pencilled into the heading. The comment card that I included I thought summed it up nicely without the use of any of the standard cliché’s regarding wine tasting. It was completed by a relatively quiet fellow who called me aside to show me his clever rating system. He decided he would rate these wines purely on the basis of how much of it he thought he would like to drink. So as you see he starts out with The Violinist at 2 bottles. Then he said that the first sip of Goosebumps only resulted in a rating of 1/2 bottle but every subsequent sip he took of it had him adding another 1/2 bottle to the tally. The rest is self explanatory. Yes, the last entry says "Sell the Farm"
Any ways I won't bore you with the details other than to say the night progressed from here to a meal of Guinness Wings, Guinness Stew & Lazymans Cabbage Rolls followed by rollicking sing song of Bluegrass & folky tunes as some of the people were members of a band that I play with called "The Crown Floats." Sadly we were all so involved in the bedlam that no one thought to take any pictures but one new song got labelled The Mollydooker Shakedown. (A play on Foggy Mountain Breakdown)
Thanks so much again for your help & we will keep in touch about any plans to make this an annual event. - Cheers, Darrell’
‘The wine arrived this past Friday! Great service. Now, I am not sure there is a difference but the “unmarked” wine seem richer that the boxer. All good. I have a feeling I will be through all 7 cases of the ’08 by summer! Much Thanks and Cheers – you do a great job.’ - Ted Needham, Georgia

‘When we visited in October for my birthday you all gave me joy like I’ve never experienced anywhere! The day we spent with you was truly magical and definitely the best winery experience any of us had ever had. We did not even bother visiting any other wineries in McLaren Vale. You truly made us feel like family. Thank you, thank you, thank you! The only thing that could make me happier would be to have the opportunity to return the favor some day. Love + hugs!’ – Marla & Don Hutchinson, Arizona