Peter Fraser, the Yangarra Estate winemaker and general manager, was found dead inside his South Australian home, sending shockwaves across the local community and the Australian and international wine community. The 51-year-old award-winning winemaker was found dead inside a Chalk Hill Rd property in Clarendon in Adelaide Hills on Thursday afternoon (November 27, 2025), according to 9 News.
After receiving reports of the blaze, the firefighters rushed to the scene to find the home engulfed in flames. Fraser was a father of four, including two stepchildren. He was married to prominent Adelaide barrister Tessa Hume. According to local media reports, the police initially claimed that the circumstances of Fraser’s death did not appear suspicious.
Fraser’s death left the local community in shock. The Yangarra Estate winemaker commands high respect and admiration in the wine business, especially in Grenache and biodynamic winemaking.
Fraser’s close friend Chester Osborn, a McLaren Vale winemaker, told The Advertiser there was “no indication” something like this was coming, according to news.com.au. “He was a delightful person, just a lovely bloke,” he said. “He was easy to get along with, never had a bad thing to say about anyone, and was just a wonderful person to be around. He was a great winemaker. He knew his wine extremely well; he knew what to do. He was perfecting his style all the time and getting better and better,” Osborn said.Who was Peter Fraser?
Live EventsBorn on January 9, 1974, in a family of chicken farmers, Fraser grew up on a property near McLaren Vale in South Australia. Peter had been the winemaker at Yangarra in McLaren Vale since 2000, when Jackson Family Wines from California bought it, according to Australia’s Wine Business Magazine.
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At the age of 20, he attended a wine dinner hosted by Warren Randall, winemaker for Andrew Garrett Wines. “I was a bit enamoured by his charisma,” Pete said. “He was doing vintage and rocked in late with his rugby shorts and t-shirt covered in wine.” Fraser’s first job in the wine industry was at Woodstock before joining St Hallett, working with the legendary Stuart Blackwell and Bob McLean, according to WBM. Later, he went on to work as chief winemaker at Normans Wines.
Yangarra is the only winery to be awarded the Halliday Wine Companion ‘Wine of the Year’ twice for the same variety – Yangarra 2021 Old Vine Grenache and Yangarra 2016 High Sands Grenache. Fraser is survived by his wife, Tessa, and two children, Jack and Poppy.
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