UNTOLD: How Bruce Lawson learned to walk again
Article Nature and wildlife Content
UNTOLD: Who is behind South Australia’s first Aboriginal-owned wine label?
14 APR 2025
For Wirangu and Kokatha man Pauly Vandenbergh, the alchemy of wine making is the instrument through which he shares his Aboriginal culture. He conducts Munda Wines with the precision of a seasoned musician.
Standing as tall as the trellises above, with toes sinking into the earth below, Pauly winds his way through serpentine rows of vines on Kaurna Country — also known as McLaren Vale. Just 33 kilometres south of Adelaide, he guides us through patches of wildflowers and cover crop, toward the spot where he plans to open his cellar door.
For millennia, this land has danced to its own rhythm, guided by the seasons and shaped by the care it receives. Each bottle of wine from this region follows a simple formula: the soil nurtures the vines, the vines nurture the grapes and those grapes create a wine that tells the story of the land. It’s a pecking order that reflects the Aboriginal philosophy of ‘Look after Country, Country will look after you’. Pauly says, munda (land) comes first in life, followed by punu (plants and trees), koka (animals) then nunga (people).
As we walk deeper into the vineyard, his connection to Country becomes more tangible. Kneeling to inspect the roots, he runs his fingers through the soil and keeps his two-toned eyes peeled for the occasional kangaroo. “Without land and soil, you don’t have good grapes, right?” Pauly explains. “That resonates a lot with me and my culture.”
Meet Pauly Vandenbergh
Despite starting just three years ago, Pauly has already made his mark with wine label Munda Wines. A budding winemaker with no formal training, Pauly is a disruptor in an industry largely dominated by European legacy.
While it has been no easy feat, Pauly decided to venture into this centuries old industry because of one simple truth. Wine sparks conversation. Since the dawn of time, humans have swapped tales over a chalice of vino. It’s an approachable setting for people to speak about reconciliation, culture and history.
“I think that’s the beautiful part about wine. You can have big, long, full-on conversations that get bigger and louder as you drink more,” Pauly says.
I want people to feel comfortable to have uncomfortable conversations. Pauly Vandenbergh
Grapes hanging from McLaren Vale vines
Standing on a cliff at Port Willunga
STRENGTH OF IDENTITY
“There’s something about the ocean, the subtle rocking of the waves, [where I feel most connected to munda],” Pauly muses. It’s a fitting reflection from a man raised on the wild coast of the Eyre Peninsula. While his Country is 600 kilometres from Port Willunga, it's just a short distance from where he plans to open his cellar door, and the salty shallows remind him of home.
“We call Ceduna the spiritual home of Munda Wines. You wouldn’t grow vines there, but it’s still a big part of my life,” Pauly says. It has even inspired the artwork for his wine bottles, a striking depiction of Ceduna’s rugged terrain as “a birds-eye view of land and Country”.
“Artwork is obviously a big part of our culture, but it's also a really important piece for Munda Wines,” he explains.
Forever guiding others
Pauly spent countless days during his childhood with his Wirangu mob fishing in the deep blue and off the jetty, camping beneath the wide sky, telling Dreamtime stories around the fire and hunting. But when he moved to Adelaide, the disconnect between his culture and the new ‘western world’ around him hit hard.
“You’re the only Aboriginal kid in the classroom. You’re the only Aboriginal kid on the basketball court. You’re the only Aboriginal kid in the shopping centre or the movies. I really struggled with that,” Pauly admits.
Facing covert racism, cultural differences and isolation, he recalls, “I was never really encouraged to talk about my Aboriginality, my identity, or the important stories of my culture.”
Pauly’s out to change the narrative with big, culture-shifting stories — and Munda Wines is leading the charge.
Storytelling is everything
A glass of Munda Wine
POURING STORIES BY THE GLASS
As Australia navigates its path to reconciliation, Aboriginal stories will continue to be shared through cultural tours, ceremonial welcomes and acknowledgements. But, few might expect to see these stories woven into the patchwork of South Australia’s wine industry — a realm renowned for its multi-generational winemakers, European traditions and the French concept of terroir.
“I really like the word reconciliation and what that looks like for us as a country,” Pauly says with distinct optimism. He believes it starts with “amplifying voices” in his community and encouraging everyone — no matter their background — to talk about Aboriginality and culture. Like the legacy of David Unaipon, the Ngarrindjeri inventor and writer immortalised on the $50 note; that the colours on the Aboriginal flag symbolise the sun, the earth and the people; and that it was only in the 1967 referendum that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were formally counted as part of the population and recognised as equal citizens. All facts Pauly feels should be common knowledge.
Whilst I’m a wine label, I feel like I’m really a storytelling company. Pauly Vandenbergh
WINE AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE
Pauly is deeply aware of the challenges facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. "People often ask me why I'm making wine or an alcoholic beverage, given the devastation alcohol has caused in my community," he says. "But what most don’t realise is that Aboriginal people have been making [fermented drinks] for tens of thousands of years.”
For ceremonial purposes, First Nations Australians have long crafted fermented beverages. The Palawa peoples of Tasmania, for example, create a cider-like drink from the naturally fermented sap of the Cider Gum (Eucalyptus Gunnii), while other Aboriginal nations produce drinks made from native fruit, such as quandong or native blossoms.
When it comes to wine, Pauly can see both the light and shade for his community – but through that grey, there is a clear spot of colour. A catalyst. A way to bridge gaps and foster relationships. “It’s not so much about what’s in the wine, which I know is important to people, but I’m [instead] finding a lot of audiences really resonating with the Indigenous story.”
Pauly’s vision for his future cellar door is completely informed by this desire to make it as comfortable as possible to have uncomfortable conversations. From sunken fire pits that urge you to draw closer, to long tables, bathed in mood lighting, that act as a meeting place. He wants an outdoor deck, so he can invite the land inside to be part of the chat. The very fabric of munda is woven into the space.
The cellar door is just the start. It’s where those conversations go that matter most to Pauly.
“What is Australia’s identity?” he questions. “It can be sports, it can be beaches and it can be everything that we talk about, but to have us included would be really powerful.”
