Winemaker Peter Fraser’s seemingly benign post before tragic end
The sprawling property of an award winning winemaker is now being protected by private security after his shock death shattered the wine world.
It’s eerily quiet at the Clarendon home of winemaker Peter Fraser, who died in a shocking fire at his five-bedroom property last Thursday.
A lone security guard was parked at the sprawling estate’s closed front gate on Monday. It is believed the family of the award-winning McLaren Vale winemaker hired the guard to stop trespassers.
At the end of its long driveway, the damaged but seemingly intact home, which sold for $1.36m in 2019, was deserted. At Yangarra Estate winery on McLaren Flat Rd, 15 minutes down the road, the gates were also shut. A sign in front of the gate told visitors that the winery, where Mr Fraser worked as winemaker for the past 15 years, was closed.
Phones went unanswered and it’s not known when the winery will reopen.
Mr Fraser‘s death last Thursday has shocked Australia’s tight-knit winemaking community.
Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
Mr Fraser’s final post on his Instagram page features a glass of $400 Corton-Charlemagne white wine with the caption “Might be the best wine I’ve ever drunk” and tags his wife, family lawyer Tessa Hume, and Queensland company Black Cat Civil, which was founded by businessmen Brendan Flynn and Jai Tomlinson.
Mr Fraser and Ms Hume were married in 2017. They have two young children, Jack, 8, and six-year-old Poppy. Mr Fraser was also stepdad to two stepsons.
His social media posts are full of doting tributes to his wife and their two young children, with photos of the young ones going to school, on their birthdays and doing fun activities like dressing up or riding ponies.
On June 23, 2023, Mr Fraser shared an article from The Advertiser about his wife, captioning it: “Proud of you … and I can categorically say I’d always want to be on your side!!”
The page – along with Yangarra Estate’s Instagram page – has been inundated with messages from friends and acquaintances devastated by Mr Fraser’s death.
Fellow vignerons have also paid tribute to Mr Fraser, calling him “one of Australia’s best”.
D’Arenberg winemaker Chester Osborn described Mr Fraser, a close friend of about 30 years, as “a great winemaker”.
“He knew his wine extremely well, he knew what to do,” Mr Osborn said.
“He was perfecting his style all the time and getting better and better.”
Yangarra Estate Vineyard honoured their “loved, respected and admired winemaker” in a heartfelt tribute online last Friday, describing his legacy as “profound”.
“For more than 25 years, Pete was the driving force behind Yangarra and was an incredible winemaker, thought leader, mentor, and a defining voice in the industry,” the statement read.
“All of us who had the privilege of working with him are devastated by this loss.”
Mr Fraser was particularly prized for his grenache. His 2021 Yangarra Old Vine Grenache was named Halliday wine of the year in 2024 and its High Sands Grenache 2016 won the same title in 2020.
In 2016, he was Halliday Wine Companion’s winemaker of the year and was named in the Drinks Business Master Winemaker 100 for 2025.
In 2019, he was at the White House for prime minister Scott Morrison’s meeting with president Donald Trump.
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Originally published as Winemaker Peter Fraser’s seemingly benign post before tragic end
