This was published 8 years ago
Mollie the dog launching new 2016 wine at Murrumbateman Winery
Brangelina has one. So does Donald Trump. And don't forget Real Housewife of Melbourne Jackie Gillies.
They all have their own wines. But they can all step aside for Mollie the dog.
You might remember Mollie as the star of Canberra's canine wine scene. Last year she and her humans at Murrumbateman Winery launched the popular Mollie's Block sauvignon blanc, her first wine.
Now she's about to celebrate her second vintage sauv blanc with a dog-friendly party at the winery next Saturday, September 3.
Murrumbateman Winery's Jennifer Lawrence says previous parties were "insanely popular" and visitors kept asking when the next one would be. "I reckon we would have seen at least 70 dogs and 150 people at each one," she says.
Mollie clearly enjoys being in the wine business – she likes to oversee vintage, and Mollie's Block is named after her favourite corner of the vineyard, where she often likes to hang out and go for a swim in the dam.
You can expect plenty of dogs at the weekend's party and so far everyone's been very well behaved. "People have shown judgment as well, they're only bringing friendly dogs, they're all on leads. Mollie tends to sing her own praises a lot, she gets a bit enthusiastic," Lawrence says.
Mollie, a photogenic six-year-old husky kelpie cross, is an RSPCA success story and was adopted by winery owner Bobbie Makin as a troubled puppy.
"She was actually categorised as an orange dog – she wasn't meant to go to a family because she'd been guarding her food," Lawrence says. "Once she arrived at the winery though she got all the food she could eat and she's now one of the most placid dogs you'll meet."
Five per cent of sales go to the RSPCA and Murrumbateman Winery also sells home-baked dog biscuits, which are quite popular.
So what can wine lovers expect from the new vintage Mollie's Block? "We've intentionally stepped away from the New Zealand style sauv blanc, we've gone for more pineapple and golden pear flavours," Lawrence says. "It was picked in February this year and Mollie was actually there overseeing the vintage, she was definitely involved in it the whole way through. We're hoping it will go well again in competitions."
Yes, Mollie's first wine won a silver medal at the Canberra and Region Wine Show (take that, Brangelina). And she's even become a drawcard in her own right, a sort of furry wine evangelist. "We actually had people who didn't drink wine come along to the winery just to meet Mollie," Lawrence says.
Mollie's dog party is on Saturday, September 3, from 10am, at Murrumbateman Winery. See murrumbatemanwinery.com.au