‘Almost blessed’: Renowned Chapel Hill winemaker takes on new job
When a national drinks giant put a famed SA label on the market earlier this year, its renowned winemaker of 22 years was left in the lurch.
Celebrated South Australian winemaker Michael Fragos has been named the new CEO and chief winemaker of McLaren Vale winery Haselgrove.
Fragos was formerly the chief winemaker at iconic SA wine label Chapel Hill for 22 years, but when the business was put up for sale by drinks and hotels giant Endeavour Group earlier this year as part of a larger reduction of its wine business, he was out of a job.
Fragos, who grew up in the McLaren Vale region, said he was “incredibly proud to have been entrusted by Haselgrove to lead this wonderful winery”.
Established in 1981, Haselgrove was bought in 2008 by current SA owners Don Totino, Steve Maglieri, Don Luca and Tony Carrocci reportedly “over a game of cards and a couple of hearty reds”.
The business purchased from Bank West produces small-batch wines specialising in McLaren Vale varieties like cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and mourvèdre.
Chairman Totino said the timing of Fragos becoming available for the top job at Haselgrove was “almost blessed”, noting previous CEO Christophe Forel decided to move to a new industry at the same time as Fragos becoming available.
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“We didn’t hesitate to bring Michael in,” Totino said.
“We have absolute trust in his expertise and professionalism; he’s going to take Haselgrove to the next level.”
Speaking to InDaily, Fragos said he was “incredibly proud of what we achieved” over the 22 years at Chapel Hill, but Haselgrove was “the next challenge”.
“For me, it was a no-brainer,” Fragos said.
“It’s a great opportunity to give back to the region that’s been so good to me.”
He said Haselgrove was a “great platform on which to build on”.
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“It’s a wonderful winery. There’s distribution within Australia and in various export markets as well, and a wonderful, talented and quite loyal team that has been there for a while who’ve immediately embraced me as soon as I walked into the building.
“The plan is to settle in, learn more about the people, place and winery and then work together to help develop a strategy to help Haselgrove thrive.”
It comes amid a turbulent period for the Australian wine industry as it faces pressures on multiple fronts from problems with finding new export markets and a red wine glut placing downward pressure on grape prices.
Grape growers were having to tear up vines in order to try and correct the amount of wine in the market; in SA there were 1440 hectares of vines less than the same time last year according to Wine Australia data.
And the total reported wine grape crush in the 2026 SA vintage was the smallest reported crush in the state since 2000 and 17 per cent less than last year’s total.
Fragos said he would meet the challenge head-on: “It’s always been about a winery or wine brand having credibility, integrity and realy having belief in what you do”.
“In these difficult times, those factors are more important than ever,” Fragos said.
“In the wine industry, we’re in the trenches at the moment. We all have to roll up our sleeves, and it’s about doing a lot of the little things really well.
“There’s no big fix – it’s about being persistent, patient and not losing vision of what you’re trying to achieve because there are a lot of distractions along the way at the moment for everyone.”
Fragos said the 2026 Haselgrove vintage was “looking fantastic”, with the ’25 and ’26 reds now aging in oak.
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