WINE .. with David Bray
Sarah and Sparky Marquis are among this country's outstanding wine producers. They make the splendid Mollydooker wines, sell 90 percent of them in the United States and have for just over a year been doing something wonderful in Cambodia. They didn't come to your reporter looking for publicity.
I discovered the story on the internet. Here is some of it, as Sarah tells it: “We have been able to build a business which not only brings us huge enjoyment, fun and friendship, but allows us to give our two children what they need to develop their talents and abilities. Living in a free and beautiful country that has never experienced war, we feel we have been incredibly blessed.
“So in 2008 we set aside 1000 cases of the 2007 Two Left Feet, to be bottled under a different label, with all of the proceeds going to charity. We asked our Mollydooker Mates to suggest a name for the wine and Ian and Katie Muncy from Ohio came up with ‘Sip it Forward’.
“I was introduced to an organisation in Australia, Transform Cambodia which provides schooling and food for children and their families in Cambodia, and decided to visit. Our world changed from that trip.
“We visited the Transform Cambodia centres and the children were so excited to see us. Their love and friendliness was special. To them, we care about them and are giving them a new life. They are extremely grateful. We got mugged with hugs by the children. They are given a chance to go to school. Their school bag, their pride and joy, goes with them everywhere. They sang and performed for us many times; it was a beautiful way to experience their culture and gentle spirit.
“So many good things are happening, and families are being cared for. They were extremely grateful as they felt like they have been incredibly blessed for their child to be part of the program. The day of our visit was the day when once a month each child’s family is given 25kg of rice. To them this is equivalent to about $500. This is done to supplement their income because the children in the program are no longer earning money from working on the street.
“We are planning to fund three houses for use as centres, and to pay all the costs involved in running the programme in each of them. Mollydooker One has just been opened and will provide food and education for 100 children. Transform Cambodia will send the children to carefully selected local schools for six half days a week, and pay all fees and costs. For the other half of the day the children will come to Mollydooker One, where they are given meals and nutritional supplements, tutored in their schoolwork, coached to read and speak English, and are trained in life skills.”
Sip it Forward is a blend of McLaren Vale shiraz, cabernet and merlot. Cost is $300 a case, from mollydookerwines.com.au
