Our Vineyards

Ministry of Clouds exists on the unceded lands of Australia’s First Nations peoples. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians who have cared for Country for countless generations, and we pay our deepest respects to Elders past and present. We are grateful to share in the joy, responsibility and privilege of caring for these remarkable landscapes into our shared future.

We probably make more wines than good business sense would suggest.

The simple truth is that we suffer from a bad case of FOMO.

We have one life, and only a finite number of vintages to work with the vineyards and varieties that inspire us. Every wine in our range exists because we genuinely believe it deserves to.

From the beginning, we made ourselves two simple promises…

We would only make wines from varieties we have spent years drinking, understanding and genuinely loving, or those we believe have a natural future in our warming Mediterranean climate; varieties that retain freshness, thrive in dry conditions and continue to excite our curiosity.

The second was to fully embrace the freedom of not inheriting vineyards nor generations of expectations. Instead, we chose our own path, slowly building relationships with remarkable growers and caring for places that resonated deeply with us.

Today, those vineyards come together in three collections, each reflecting a different chapter of our lives in wine.

Our home, McLaren Vale, lies forty-five minutes south of Adelaide, framed by 25 kilometres of coastline, the Onkaparinga Gorge to the north, and the Mount Lofty Ranges to the east. It is the interplay of Mediterranean climate, maritime influence, ancient geology and a myriad of microclimates that first drew us to this remarkable place.

Owning a vineyard was always part of our dream.

In fact, we began discussing the purchase of The Chase with its previous owners just before Ministry of Clouds was founded in 2012. It would take another four years of patience and conversations before we finally agreed on a price and became its custodians in 2016.

Some things are worth waiting for. The Chase was one of them.

Perched 200 metres above sea level on the dramatic rim of the Onkaparinga Gorge, The Chase is an 11-hectare hard rock vineyard, where a remarkably thin layer of topsoil overlays ancient slaty siltstone formed some 650 million years ago. The vines are challenged to search deeply for water and nutrients, naturally limiting vigour and producing modest yields, small bunches, tiny berries and the mineral tannin profile that is the defining hallmark of the site.

Since then, we’ve gradually reshaped the vineyard to reflect the future we see for McLaren Vale. Originally planted to Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, today The Chase is also home to Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault, Tempranillo, Mencía and Picpoul. Each variety has been carefully matched to its aspect, soil and microclimate, favouring those that retain natural acidity or thrive in warm, dry conditions.

Excellent natural airflow keeps disease and pest pressure remarkably low, allowing us to farm organically, though not certified, while regenerative farming practices and our certification through Sustainable Winegrowing Australia reflect our commitment to leaving this place better than we found it.

The thrill was never simply finding The Chase.

It is the privilege of spending a lifetime learning from it.

Grenache delivers what Pinot promises…

While Shiraz was the catalyst behind us making wine, Grenache has been our obsession since our early days in the wine world.

More than any other variety grown in McLaren Vale, we believe Grenache speaks clearly of the place from which it comes. Its transparency allows subtle differences in soil, geology, elevation and season to reveal themselves with remarkable clarity.

We are lucky to work with some of McLaren Vale’s oldest bush vine Grenache, planted between 1922 and late 1950s. Together, three remarkable subregions, Blewitt Springs, Clarendon and Seaview each offer their own distinct personalities.

Our Old Vine Grenache brings these places together in a regional expression of McLaren Vale, while Spice Garden, Silk & Stone and Kintsugi explore them in greater detail.

Blewitt Springs
The deep white Maslin sands of Blewitt Springs have become synonymous with some of Australia’s most distinctive Grenache. Formed from an ancient dune system over ironstone, these free-draining soils encourage vines to search deeply for moisture, naturally limiting vigour and producing wines of fragrance, spice, fine tannins and remarkable elegance.

We find ourselves blessed to work with some of the region’s most amazing old bush vine blocks planted in the 1920’s, 1939 and 1952, blocks which sit alongside one another, allowing us to capture a layered expression of this extraordinary subregion.

Clarendon
Our Clarendon fruit comes from the remarkable Smart family vineyard, where the oldest bush vines were planted in 1922.

Situated in the coolest, highest and latest-ripening corner of McLaren Vale, on steep south-facing slopes approaching the Adelaide Hills, Clarendon produces Grenache of striking finesse and structure. Loamy red clay over quartz, shale and ironstone atop 750-million-year-old bedrock provide both natural water retention and mineral complexity, delivering wines of perfume, tension and quiet longevity.

Seaview
Across the road from our home vineyard, The Chase, our Seaview Grenache comes from dry-grown bush vines planted in the late 1950s on the rim of the Onkaparinga Gorge.

Here, red-brown sandy loams sit over ancient Cambrian rock densely packed with quartz and ironstone. Together with the site’s gentle north-facing aspect, these ancient soils produce a darker, more structured expression of Grenache, underpinned by the distinctive mineral character that has become a hallmark of this remarkable corner of McLaren Vale.

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In exceptional seasons, the finest parcels from these three remarkable places come together to create Kintsugi, our deepest exploration of old vine Grenache and the quiet pursuit that continues to shape our lives in wine.

One life.

A finite number of vintages.

These are simply wines we can’t imagine not making.

Without the luxury, or perhaps the limitation, of inheriting generations of vineyards or expectation, we’ve always relished the freedom to cast our net a little wider from our home in McLaren Vale. Drawn from remarkable vineyards in the Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley, this collection reflects decades of drinking, travelling and learning, alongside a deep love of Australia’s wonderfully diverse food culture.

Clare Valley
Nowhere to hide…
Our Clare Valley Riesling has been with us since the inaugural release of Ministry of Clouds and remains one of the purest expressions of our philosophy.

Stretching north from the Mount Lofty Ranges, the Clare Valley is one of Australia’s highest wine regions. Warm, sunny days are tempered by cool nights and significant diurnal temperature shifts, allowing fruit to ripen slowly while retaining remarkable natural acidity. Within Clare, the Watervale subregion has earned a reputation for producing Rieslings of exceptional purity and longevity from its distinctive terra-rossa and red loam soils over limestone.

Our wine is drawn from an elevated Watervale vineyard planted in the 1960s and picked early to hopefully balance crystalline acidity with gentle fruit weight. It remains a wine where there is nowhere to hide, just vineyard, season and restraint.

Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills has become our home away from home.

Rising from 350 to well over 600 metres above sea level, it is Australia’s most geographically diverse cool-climate wine region. Altitude, cool nights and a remarkable patchwork of soils and aspects create ideal conditions for varieties that reward freshness, precision and elegance.

Our Chardonnay is sourced from two carefully selected vineyards from the Piccadilly Valley and Woodside, each contributing a different layer to the finished wine. The deeply cool Piccadilly Valley brings line, tension and mineral precision, while Woodside contributes quiet power, texture and generosity.

We waited many years before making Pinot Noir, convinced that the vineyard had to be exceptional before we deserved the opportunity. Our single-site wine comes from a steep vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley, planted to four clones at around 500 metres above sea level, where long, cool ripening seasons produce wines of perfume, structure and longevity.

Our Gamay comes from the Turnbull family’s remarkable Charleston vineyard, where shallow sandy loams over schist, quartz and ironstone produce wines of fragrance, energy and effortless drinkability. As well a vineyard a little further north in Kenton Valley where more generous clay soils results in prettier more fruit driven expressions.

Around the Table
Some wines simply don’t fit neatly into categories.

GG (Gewurtztraminer Pinot Gris) and LDR (Light Dry Red) celebrate the openness, diversity and generosity of Australia’s modern food culture. They are wines born from curiosity rather than convention, made for long lunches, shared tables and the wonderfully eclectic way Australians now eat and drink.

Small in volume.

Big on love.