We established Oatley Vineyard in 1986 on England's famous west-country red soil, producing natural, usually fully-dry white wines that reflect the year, the varieties and the “terroir”. The site is a warm, sheltered, gentle SE slope between the Quantock Hills and the Bristol Channel coast of Somerset, an early site that enables us to bring in harvests of consistent quality.

We normally produce two dry white wines a year year from our two grape varieties on what are now old vines. Our grapes are all grown here at Oatley. We keep our cropping densities low for quality and depth of flavour. Vintages are limited in size and are eagerly awaited by regular customers. Each vintage has its own character, but the varietal characteristics give us two "series" of wines, described on the right.

Our Price-list details currently-available wines.

Our wines stand up well in international competitions, with 20 awards in 18 years from the International Wine Challenge, and 3 awards in 2 years from the newer Decanter World Wine Awards. Winemaker is Steve Brooksbank, based nearby in Somerset, close to Shepton Mallet.

We pick our grapes by hand, seal our bottles with a cork and hand-label them.   All Oatley wines are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Oatley is deep in the country, with clean, Atlantic air. We try to manage it in an eco-friendly way. We let the grasses and wildflowers seed in the permanently-grassed alleys and trim our ancient hedges rarely so they carry fruit and seed for birds. We are rewarded with abundant wildlife. We do use fungicide sprays but keep them to a minimum, discouraging mildews mainly by careful husbandry.  We use hand tools where we can to minimise soil compaction and natural mulch and manure rather than arificial fertilisers. Currently we have a no-herbicide trial running. We use lightish weight, (400g) bottles to keep our wines’ carbon footprint down.

More on our "about" page and up-to-date news in our vineblog.

Interested?  Look at our pricelist

“Jane’s” wines, from golden Madeleine Angevine grapes, are deliciously English. Madeleine Angevine is widely-grown in the west country, well-suited to the climate. Typically it gives a light, crisp wine with a flower-scented nose and lemony notes on the palate, lower acid and perhaps a shorter finish than the Leonora’s. Delightful in a summer garden or as an aperitive.

Best drunk young and fresh, within 2-3 years.

Kernling grapes, pictured above, make our “Leonora’s” series, international wines with the body, length and fruit to complement fine food. Kernling is a a high-quality variety, first cross from Riesling. The grapes ripen to rose-red but the wine is white (because the wines are not fermented on the skins). The wines are generally dry and elegant, often compared by customers with Sancerre/Sauvignon Blanc.

Leonora’s wines typically continue to Improve over three to four years, developing complex honey overtones. .