Australia’s Haselgrove has appointed Michael Fragos, the former chief winemaker at Chapel Hill Wines, as CEO and head winemaker at the McLaren Vale winery.
In a statement, the business said Fragos would lead Haselgrove after the departure of previous CEO Christophe Forel, who “decided to make a move to a new industry”.
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Fragos most recently spent 22 years as chief winemaker at Chapel Hill. According to the statement, he grew up on a local vineyard in McLaren Vale and has worked 37 vintages in the region.
The new CEO joins Haselgrove after wider changes at Endeavour Group’s Pinnacle Drinks business, which owns the Chapel Hill brand.
In May, Endeavour said it would retain the Chapel Hill, Riddoch Coonawarra and Krondorf Barossa brands but sell their vineyards and physical assets as part of an “asset-light, customer-led” restructure.
At the time, the company said Chapel Hill’s operations would close at the end of June and production of the brand would be consolidated at Dorrien Estate in the Barossa.
“I am incredibly proud to have been entrusted by Haselgrove to lead this wonderful winery,” Fragos said. “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to help shape all aspects of the business.”
Totino said Fragos became available at the same time Forel decided to leave.
“When [previous CEO] Christophe Forel decided to make a move to a new industry, at the same time as Michael becoming available, you could say the timing was almost blessed,” Totino said. “We didn’t hesitate to bring Michael in.”
Established in 1981, Haselgrove has been owned since 2008 by South Australian businesspeople Don Totino, Steve Maglieri, Don Luca and Tony Carrocci, Fragos told Just Drinks.
In the statement, Haselgrove said Fragos has longstanding ties with the ownership group, having worked with Maglieri, Luca and Carrocci at Tatachilla winery in the 1990s and advised Totino as he established an Adelaide Hills vineyard.
Haselgrove sells in Australia and selected export markets including China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, England, Germany, Denmark and Canada.
The business sells through both on- and off-trade channels, with a focus on the on-trade.
It does not disclose annual revenue or turnover.
The company owns one vineyard adjacent to the winery and also buys grapes from local growers. It has 15 employees.
Asked about growth plans, Fragos said he would initially focus on understanding the business and its staff.
He then said he plans to “work together to formulate a strategy to help Haselgrove thrive in the current market conditions”.
“We currently have a solid distribution network on which to build there are still gaps within Australia and some key export markets that we need to find distribution partners for.”
