Calorie levels in Mollydooker Wines A glass of Mollydooker contains about 100-120 calories, depending on the alcohol level of the wine.
What kinds of chemicals are used on the grapes you use for you wines? Mollydooker wines are a founding member of the McLaren Vale wine industry initiative Generational Farming. The philosophy that informs this initiative is similar to the medical profession’s injunction “Do no harm”, but actually goes further in seeking to improve our natural resources for succeeding generations. Here are some practices that we use in our vineyards: Increasing the Carbon content of our viticultural soils leads to practices such as growing winter crops (for example, oats) which protect the soils from rain damage over the winter, reduce the vigour of the grapevine by using up soil water, and when mature, is either flattened by rolling or slashed to provide reduced under vine soil temperatures (and hence increased soil biota) during the summer. This also provides a mechanism for removing carbon from the atmosphere and accumulating it in the soil. Similarly, no insecticides have ever been used by Mollydooker. Rather we have planted flower beds close to or actually within the vineyard proper to provide habitat and food for beneficial insects, which prey on and control the populations of non-beneficial “bugs”. Reclaimed water is the main resource for irrigation, with dam water also available to prevent a possible build- up of salts in the soil profile. Grape residue (“marc”) is taken off the property and composted for use/return to vineyards. We utilise a woodlot for the disposal of winery waste which can’t be reused in the vineyard, monitored for strict compliance with environmental guidelines.
Are large format bottles sealed with screw caps or corks? Our 3L, 6L and 9L bottles and our Velvet Glove magnums are sealed with hand selected natural corks, and then waxed. All other magnums have Lux caps. Will you be offering 3L, 6L and 9L bottles of the Lefties e.g. The Boxer? We had a serious look at that, because it sounds so much fun. The challenge is that the 3L, 6L and 9L cost so much to produce that you would be paying much more than you would for the equivalent amount of wine in 750ml bottles. We feel that after we hand bottle, hand label and hand wax our 3L, 6L and 9L bottles in Australia (where wages are very high), and then freight them to the US, repack them and send them to you, the price we would have to charge would far exceed the value of the wine in the bottle.
Why do the Mollydooker Shake? It's the best way to prepare our wines for drinking. Most wines contain sulphites in order to protect them. Sulphites can cause an allergic asthma type reaction and we realise a lot of people are sensitive to them. So wherever we can, we use nitrogen to protect the wine so that we can reduce the amount of sulphites. However when you use nitrogen in winemaking it compresses the flavour - if you think of flavour as a big round ball the nitrogen flattens the back end of the round ball. As soon as you do the Mollydooker Shake it releases the nitrogen and the flavour pops back out to it's full size again. Do I Shake all my Mollydookers? Yes please, shake all our red wines up until they are two years old. After two years the Nitrogen will have released naturally from the wine. Please do not shake our rosé, white and sparkling wines. We use very little Nitrogen in our white winemaking because the CO2 that is produced during primary fermentation protects the wine from oxidation. In addition we use a specialised technique called ‘Hyper-Oxidation’ which means that we don’t add sulphites until the very last stage of blending, hence our white wine has very low sulphites. Also, please do not shake our sparkling wines because there will be quite an explosion! How do I do the Mollydooker Shake? Watch how Sarah & Sparky do it on their fun Video Can I shake a Mollydooker Red after it is two years old? You don't need to because the Nitrogen naturally releases out of the wine by then, however if you do it is not detrimental at all, and it's always good fun. Can I decant my Mollydookers or use an aerator instead of doing the Mollydooker Shake? No, because it does not produce the same effect. Decanting, or dispensing with an aerator, oxygenates the wine. If there is nitrogen in the wine, it acts antagonistically to oxygen, so by not doing the Shake, not only are you not releasing the nitrogen, you are also reducing the effectiveness of the decanting/aerating. We have done blind tastings of the Shake vs. the Decant and the Shake is always the winner. If you want to do both, do the Shake first which will release the nitrogen and then decant. Take the Mollydooker Taste Test From a new bottle of Mollydooker, pour some wine out into a glass and set it aside. Do the Mollydooker Shake on the rest of the wine in the bottle, and pour some into another glass. Then taste them side by side. The difference will amaze you! Here are Sarah's comments on the difference....Pre-Shake the wines are intense, concentrated and still magnificent. However after the shake, the wine becomes more approachable, the aromatics are lifted and the fruit is smoother on the palate. An overall more enjoyable experience!
What causes sediment in wine? Sediment is formed when some of the color molecules join up with some of the tannin molecules, forming long chains that are too heavy to remain in the liquid, so they drop to the bottom of the bottle. This happens naturally as the wines age, and can also happen if wines are stored for long periods at a colder temperature than in the winery where they were made. How do I get rid of the sediment in my wine? The best thing to do is to remove it by decanting the wine. Gently pour the wine from the bottle into a wine decanter leaving the sediment behind. You can then serve the wine from the decanter. If you don't have a decanter, you can pour the wine into a jug with a narrow neck. Can you eliminate sediment? Yes, we believe that this is possible by adjusting the pre-bottling maturation temperature. Our study and research has shown that our friends in the US tend to have cooler temperatures than we personally use in Australia - we tend to be at 17C (63F) and our study found US personal cellars are about 58F (14.5C). As a result of the helpful emails and the research work that we are doing, we have made some changes to our winemaking techniques. We have been adjusting the pre-bottling maturation temperature downwards every year, and for the 2012 vintage lowered it to 7C (45F). Before doing the experiments we were afraid that the change might affect the colour, flavour and/or character of our wines, but it hasn't done so at all, and it looks as though it will further enhance the WOW effect of Mollydooker by making sure that our friends can drink every last drop from each bottle that they open.
How soon can we drink our wine? You can drink them straight away. Just do the Mollydooker Shake on any reds under 2 years (do not shake Euphoria, Serenity, Summer of '69, The Violinist or Miss Molly) and they will be ready for drinking. How long will the wines last? Harvey Steiman at Wine Spectator.com gives a life of 15-20 years for most of our wines. We don’t have any that are 20 years old yet so we can’t tell you from personal experience, but we have been drinking some of our wines which are 14 years old and they have been stunning. We make our wines so that you can enjoy them now, however if you do enjoy older wines, as long as they are cellared properly they are safe to put away for 15-20 years. Wine Storage and Serving Temperature We recommend that you store our wines at 13°C (55F). This is the ideal temperature to preserve and protect your wines so they taste great when you drink them. The best way to enjoy Euphoria and Miss Molly is to chill it in the fridge for at least 3 days, which will ensure the bubbles are at their optimum. Our Sparkling, White and Rose wines are best served at 4°C (40F) and our Reds at 16°C (60F) to maximise their wonderfully rich, intense fruit aromas and flavours. Remember to do the Mollydooker Shake on all our red wines if they are under two years old. Do not shake Euphoria, Serenity, Summer of '69, The Violinist or Miss Molly.
learn more
need help?