Ministry of Clouds is the creation of Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood and it’s just on a decade since they decided to leave the security of the corporate wine world (the ministry) for the adventure (the clouds) of their own wine venture. And it’s been quite a journey thus far.
From the 2012 vintage their first five releases all rated between 94 and 97 points in the Halliday Wine Companion and earned them a spot in the Top Ten New Wineries for the year. Basing themselves in McLaren Vale, they sourced red fruit from around the Vale, securing parcels from some of the most venerable and sought-after old-vine Shiraz and Grenache vineyards.
To these plots, they added Tempranillo from the Vale, Riesling from the Clare and Chardonnay from Tasmania to broaden their portfolio. And then from the 2016 vintage came a new flagship wine, Kintsugi, named for the Japanese art of ‘golden joinery’ used to resurrect ancient, broken pottery
