Australia · McLaren Vale

Ministry of Clouds

Food-minded South Australian wines built around McLaren Vale Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz and Tempranillo, with estate fruit from Seaview and older regional vineyard sources.

The producer

Founded in 2012 by Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood, Ministry of Clouds works from McLaren Vale with wines conceived for the table. The 11-hectare Chase vineyard in Seaview supplies sustainably farmed estate fruit, while older sites in Clarendon, Blewitt Springs and Seaview contribute Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz and Tempranillo; one cited Grenache source was planted in 1922.

The red range moves from fruit-led Tempranillo Grenache to darker, earth-toned Shiraz with more tannin and texture. Clare Valley Riesling provides a dry white counterpoint, fermented and aged on lees so acidity carries more weight across the palate.

Known for

McLaren Vale red varieties from Seaview estate fruit and old-vine regional sources, paired with Clare Valley Riesling.

Notable facts

The story

An Independent Start in 2012

Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood founded Ministry of Clouds in 2012 after entering wine by non-traditional routes and working for other Australian producers. By 2018, their combined experience in those businesses exceeded 35 years, but the new label did not begin with an inherited estate. They set out to make wines conceived with gastronomy in mind, then assembled fruit around the varieties and places they wanted to work with: Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz and Tempranillo from McLaren Vale, alongside Clare Valley Riesling. The portfolio later included The Chase, an 11-hectare vineyard in Seaview, while older-vine fruit from other McLaren Vale subregions remained part of the range.

From the atlas

Ministry of Clouds

At A Glance

Ministry of Clouds is a South Australian producer founded in 2012 by Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood. Its centre is McLaren Vale, where the 11-hectare Chase vineyard in Seaview supplies estate fruit, while older vineyards in Clarendon, Blewitt Springs and Seaview extend the red range. Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz and Tempranillo lead the McLaren Vale wines; Clare Valley Riesling provides a cooler-climate white alongside them.

The Producer

Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood founded Ministry of Clouds to make wines conceived with gastronomy in mind. That starting point is visible in a range built from several grapes and sites rather than one inherited holding: McLaren Vale reds sit beside Clare Valley Riesling, with each bottle intended to bring fruit, acidity, tannin or texture to the table in a different way.

The winery is on Chapel Hill Road in McLaren Vale, but its bottle labels travel across South Australia where a site suits a variety. The Chase gives the estate a Seaview base; purchased fruit lets the pair work with old-vine Grenache and other red varieties from cooler parts of McLaren Vale.

Place

McLaren Vale was chosen for its maritime position, Mediterranean climate and geological complexity. Those conditions frame the producer’s preference for Mediterranean red grapes: Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz and Tempranillo can carry ripe fruit while retaining the structure needed for food.

Seaview is the home of The Chase, while Clarendon and Blewitt Springs supply further McLaren Vale fruit. These names matter on the range because the producer does not treat McLaren Vale as a single uniform source: estate grapes and purchased old-vine material enter different wines, including Shiraz and Tempranillo Grenache.

Soil And Site

The documented site story begins with geological complexity and airflow rather than a named soil type. At The Chase, natural airflow generally lowers disease and pest pressure; the vineyard can therefore be farmed organically, although it was not organically certified when that status was published.

The estate vineyard covers 11 hectares in Seaview. Beyond it, Ministry of Clouds works with older McLaren Vale sites, including Grenache planted in 1922. Vine age is part of the range’s raw material: it directs attention toward Grenache and red blends with fruit concentration and tannin structure, rather than treating every parcel as interchangeable.

Story

Ong and Forwood came to wine by non-traditional routes and had accumulated more than 35 years of work with other Australian producers by 2018. Ministry of Clouds turned that experience into an independent label in 2012, with wines conceived around gastronomy rather than a narrow estate formula.

The resulting shape is deliberately broad in place but specific in bottle. McLaren Vale provides the core red grapes and The Chase provides estate fruit; Clare Valley Riesling brings a separate white expression, while Adelaide Hills Chardonnay and Mencia widen the South Australian picture. The consequence is a list of wines organised by variety and site, with different weights, acidity profiles and tannin levels for different meals.

Vineyards And Cellar

The Chase is sustainably farmed, and its airflow supports organic vineyard work by reducing usual disease and pest pressure. In the finished wines, that farming focus is joined by fruit from selected old-vine sites, so the cellar begins with parcels of different age and McLaren Vale subregion rather than one blended vineyard source.

Fermentation and maturation are central parts of the producer’s stated winemaking work. The Clare Valley Riesling is fermented and aged on lees, a choice that puts a layer of texture beside its acidity. For the reds, the documented Tempranillo Grenache and Shiraz descriptions emphasise fruit, body, tannin and texture: the cellar’s task is to carry those structural differences into separate bottles.

Wines

The McLaren Vale red range moves through Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz and Tempranillo, with named wines including McLaren Vale Tempranillo Grenache, McLaren Vale Shiraz, Grenache and Grenache Carignan. Old-vine sourcing is particularly important to the Grenache material, including a source planted in 1922; the red wines therefore move from blended fruit-and-tannin shapes to darker Shiraz with an earth register and firmer grip.

Clare Valley Riesling is the counterweight. Its fermentation and lees ageing make it a dry white with acidity and texture rather than a lighter version of the reds. Adelaide Hills Chardonnay and Mencia extend the range further, but the core contrast remains clear: McLaren Vale red varieties provide body, tannin and fruit, while Riesling brings a cooler-climate white line.

In The Glass

The Clare Valley Riesling begins with fruit and carries dry acidity through a lees-shaped texture, finishing with enough structure for ageing. It is the range’s briskest profile, where fermentation and lees ageing keep the palate from feeling simply light.

McLaren Vale Tempranillo Grenache brings fruit into a medium-bodied red frame, with tannin structure supplying grip and a food-friendly shape. The Shiraz is darker in register: fruit meets earth, with more texture and tannin through the finish. Across these reds, grape choice and McLaren Vale sourcing move the range toward body and savoury structure rather than sweetness.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the 2021 Ministry of Clouds McLaren Vale Tempranillo Grenache. It puts two central red grapes into one bottle and shows the house’s food-minded direction without relying on a single-vineyard claim. Expect fruit, medium body and clear tannin structure: the Tempranillo Grenache blend has enough grip for a meal, while its fruit keeps the palate open. It is a useful first bottle because it connects McLaren Vale sourcing, Mediterranean varieties and the producer’s stated gastronomic purpose in one red.

Anecdote

Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood founded Ministry of Clouds in 2012 after taking non-traditional routes into wine and working for other Australian producers. By 2018, their combined experience in those businesses exceeded 35 years, but Ministry of Clouds began as an independent label rather than an inherited vineyard estate. They set out to make wines conceived with gastronomy in mind, then built a portfolio that could follow fruit beyond one address: McLaren Vale supplied Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz and Tempranillo, while Clare Valley Riesling gave the label a white wine from a different South Australian region. The business later added The Chase, its 11-hectare Seaview vineyard, to that wider sourcing model.

Final Word

Ministry of Clouds is most compelling when its range is read bottle by bottle: a Seaview estate vineyard, old McLaren Vale Grenache, structured red blends and a dry Clare Valley Riesling. The Tempranillo Grenache is the direct place to begin, then the Shiraz and Riesling show how much the producer changes the glass through grape and site.

Sources

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