Michael Fragos, the most recent custodian of the proud Chapel Hill winery, was announced today as the new CEO and Chief Winemaker of Haselgrove Wines.
What Endeavour has done to Chapel Hill, meanwhile, is less good. Actually, it’s wine-brand bastardy: they’ve decided to keep the brand but sell off the assets (or just shutter them), and made Michael redundant.
Sure, Chapel Hill isn’t dead, but separating the brand from the estate (complete with the distinctive chapel on a hill, which makes it Chapel Hill) just makes it another faceless label. They’ve also ditched the other asset, Fragos himself, who is far too considered for such a lack of brand foresight.
I can fondly remember when Fragos announced the launch of the Chapel Hill super wine, The Devil, a little while back. He seemed to be apologising about releasing a wine with such ambition. Michael is too humble for fancy wines.
What’s surprising about this situation is that the recent treatment of the brands (or soon-to-be-ex-brands) in the Endeavour Brands portfolio has been really quite positive. As David Bicknell (ex-Oakridge chief, who also has been pushed out) talks about in this interview, Endeavour was actually a rather respectful owner.
Anyway, as the saying goes, big business and wine rarely mix well, and this is exhibit #4065.
Luckily, I have a few of the Fragos-era Chapel Hill wines, in all their luscious, typically honest glory, to realise what has been left behind:
Chapel Hill The Devil Shiraz 2022
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