Marquis Vineyard Watering Programme™

The Marquis Vineyard Watering Programme™ focuses on nurturing strong and healthy vines with balanced canopy growth to achieve the most intense fruit flavors possible. The amazing fruit flavor achieved in the vineyard is exactly what creates the Marquis Fruit Weight™ in the wine. Marquis Fruit Weight™ is the “velvet glove” sensation of fruit that sits on your tongue before the structure of the wine is exposed. The higher the Fruit Weight, the more intense and rich are the flavors in the finished wine.

Achieving a high Fruit Weight grade doesn’t start in the winery; it starts in the vineyards, which is where Sarah and Sparky’s scientific know-how is first applied. “We ripen the vine, so that it can ripen the fruit” explains Sparky. Knowing that healthy vines create the best fruit, Sparky studied vineyard canopy management for his college thesis. So groundbreaking was his work on Pinot Noir in Tasmania, that he won a scholarship to present it in France and the US. Over the last 20 years he’s developed the Marquis Vineyard Watering Programme™, which is used by all vineyards producing grapes for Mollydooker.

The Marquis Vineyard Watering Programme™ is based on intensive data collection and analysis, which starts at budburst and carries on with inspections of each vineyard throughout the entire growing season. Twice a week, the Mollydooker vineyard team physically measures the growth of the vines, and reports on canopy growth, rachis maturation and the Fruit Weight of the juice. The data is then fed into a complex set of formulas, the results of which provide the team with precise watering recommendations for the following three days.

For example, toward harvest time, the grapes have a rapidly accelerating sugar level, but the essential flavor level lags behind. So, the Mollydooker team applies water to control the sugar level until the flavor level catches up. Leigh, Sparky’s Dad and Vineyard Programme Manager, tells us, “It’s the range and intensity of the flavor which translates into Marquis Fruit Weight™, and ultimately into the incredibly rich, velvety wines that have become Sarah and Sparky’s trademark.” Leigh is our Vineyards Management Supervisor. Although an engineer by profession, he established his own award-winning vineyards in Tasmania, is an expert in clonal selection and soil types, and was the department of Agriculture’s official supplier of cuttings to the vineyard industry.

We have very stringent conditions which growers and vineyards must meet before we even consider a vineyard. Our original contract is for one year, so that both our team and the grower have some time to determine if our philosophies are well-suited for each other. If we find a good match, we offer a three year rolling contract. We pay above average prices for the fruit, and pay bonuses of up to 150% depending on the Marquis Fruit Weight™ level which the resulting wine achieves.

Generally we begin working closely with a vineyard in Spring, when the vineyard team starts their twice weekly inspections. The aim at this stage is to apply sufficient water to grow the canopy as fast as possible, and to help the vines to be productive in the following year, as the fruiting buds for the following vintage are developed during the spring of the current vintage.

When the canopy is sufficient, the water is turned off, and the vine starts to concentrate on developing its fruit instead of its vegetative growth. The vines are still measured twice weekly because they are sensitive little darlings, and even during ‘water off’ may for instance need to have ‘water on’ whilst flowering to ensure fruit set, and may need a safety watering on exceptionally hot days.

The vineyard inspectors are the heroes of our team. They walk the vineyards on very hot days, braving snakes, mozzies and flies. We send them out in special clothing and with camel packs to protect them from the sun and dehydration. Although it is the hardest job, it is also the most coveted one, because we all know that the quality of our wines comes from the work we do in the vineyards.

Once the vines have accepted that they need to look after their babies, and give up their extravagant canopy lifestyle, the inspectors start authorizing water again – in small doses at first, just to make sure the vines don’t go off the rails. Once the vines have shown that they can behave responsibly, they are fully re-hydrated. They are then kept cycling through vegetative and reproductive stages so that they can create sugar and dump it in the grapes.

By this time the inspectors are collecting bunches of grapes for bucket tests. Bunches are weighed so that we get an approximate idea of our potential crop, and the grapes are crushed and the juice taste tested for color and flavor. At this stage the grapes usually have a rapidly accelerating sugar level whilst the all-essential flavor level lags behind. At this point, we apply lots of water so that we can dilute the sugar level until the flavor level catches up. We are looking for that intensity of flavor which, in the winery, becomes the Marquis Fruit Weight™ the velvet glove of fruit which coats your tongue) which is the trade mark of our wines.

When the grape juice rates at 'Awesome', we pick - usually two weeks later than everyone else. A member of our vineyard team is always present when a block is being harvested, ensuring that harvester, trucks and equipment are all clean, and that there is no water in any of the bins. The team member then goes with the grape trucks to the winery, and hands the precious loads over to the Mollydooker Receiving Winemaker.

We then apply Sparky's After Harvest Watering Programme to the vineyards, to enable the vines to store carbohydrates for the next season, and to send their roots deeper into the ground. Finally the vineyard team leaves the fields to help in the winery before taking a well-earned break, and then starting the cycle all over again.

In autumn, after harvest, our vines stand out – they are the ones with plenty of growth, still having water supplied, so that they store carbohydrates for the next vintage, and grow deep root systems.

During winter Russ and Pete work with the cellar team, whilst Marcella, supervises bottling. Leigh scientifically establishes the parameters for each vineyard, so that we can make pruning recommendations that will foster high quality fruit at the vineyard’s optimum cropping level. He then counts the shoots and buds, and does a statistical analysis of the results to provide base data for the following year.