Endeavour Drinks welcomes Chapel Hill and establishes Paragon Wine Estates

Thursday 12th September, 2019: Endeavour Drinks announced today that is has acquired leading McLaren Vale winery Chapel Hill. 

Chapel Hill will become part of the newly formed, Paragon Wine Estates, which will also house Endeavour Drinks’ existing portfolio of premium and regional wine brands: Krondorf (Barossa Valley), Isabel Estate (Marlborough) and Riddoch (Coonawarra). 

Managing Director of Endeavour Drinks, Steve Donohue said: “This development is an important step in further enhancing our wine business ahead of the proposed transition of Endeavour Drinks to a stand-alone business after the planned merger with ALH in 2020.

“Welcoming Chapel Hill to the group has inspired the creation of Paragon Wine Estates and is an exciting new element of our diverse Pinnacle Drinks business.

“These great wine producers deserve special attention. Each one has a rich history and unique traditions which form the basis of their wonderful stories. We hope to share those stories with wine lovers the world over.”

Chapel Hill, in the northern, more elevated sector of McLaren Vale, was acquired from the privately-held Swiss corporation Permafix. 

The purchase includes the famous Chapel Hill cellar door, which incorporates an ironstone chapel built in 1865, together with associated buildings and 40 hectares under vine.

Longtime Chapel Hill Chief Winemaker and CEO Michael Fragos said: “Our team will remain with Chapel Hill and the winery’s important relationships with grape growers will also remain unchanged as a result of this acquisition.

“Over the past five years we have enjoyed a very close and successful working relationship with Endeavour Drinks. The team at Chapel Hill now enthusiastically look forward to working with the Endeavour team to continue to enhance the wonderful reputation and pedigree that Chapel Hill has garnered since it was established in 1971.”

The Pinnacle Drinks business encompasses a wide range of important wine assets, partnerships and capabilities. These include numerous winegrowing partnerships across Australia and New Zealand, winemaking and wine storage facilities in the Barossa and Marlborough New Zealand, and wine packaging and bottling facilities in Barossa and McLaren Vale. Marketing and product development teams are located in South Australia and New South Wales, and an export team is located in Sydney and London. 

The inclusion of Chapel Hill deepens Pinnacle’s long-term participation in the Australian wine industry and reinforces its commitment to McLaren Vale where the Vinpac wine bottling facility has operated since 2001.

About Chapel Hill 

The first vines at Chapel Hill were planted on shallow rocky soils in 1972 and the first vintage was 1975. The Chapel itself is perched on the edge of the spectacular Onkaparinga Gorge with sweeping views back over McLaren Vale and the Gulf of St Vincent. 

Key Awards: 

• Trophy for Best Cabernet at the 2018 Sydney Royal Wine Show
• Trophy for Best Other White Varietal at the 2018 Sydney Royal Wine Show
• International Winemaker of The Year at the 2007 International Wine & Spirits Competition
• 2010 Bushing Monarch award for the Best Wine at the McLaren Vale Wine Show
• Long-time Halliday 5 Red Star Winery

Key awards for brands from Paragon Wine Estates:

Krondorf Barossa Valley 

• Jimmy Watson Trophy awarded in 1980 to the 1979 Krondorf Cabernet Sauvignon
• Gold medals to 2017 Krondorf Barossa Shiraz at the 2019 China Wine & Spirits Awards and 2019 Melbourne International Wine Competition 
• Platinum to 2016 Krondorf Symmetry Shiraz at the 2019 Decanter World Wine Awards

Isabel Estate Marlborough 

• Air New Zealand Award in 2017 to the 2016 Isabel Estate Marlborough Chardonnay
• Trophy at the 2017 Marlborough Wine Show to the 2016 Isabel Estate Wild Barrique Marlborough Chardonnay
• Gold medal to 2016 Isabel Estate Chardonnay at the 2017 NZ International Wine Show 

Riddoch Coonawarra

• Jimmy Watson Trophy awarded in 1987 to the 1986 Riddoch Cabernet Shiraz
• Trophy for Best Red Wine at the 2018 Japan Wine Challenge
• Gold medal to 2017 Riddoch Merlot at the China Wine & Spirits Awards
• Trophy and gold medal to 2015 Riddoch Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon at the 2018 Japan Wine Challenge