Oatley Estate

Graeme and Margaret Staas have lived in Oatley for 33 years and registered the name Oatley Estate wines in 1989. They own a 40ha block which forms part of the famous Sunshine Estate once owned by Lindemans, and which produced many of the great Lindemans wines through to the early 1970s. Here they have planted 8ha of shiraz, semillon, chardonnay and traminer, producing around 50 to 60 tonnes per year. Most of the grapes have been sold over the years to other producers, but from 2003 they reserved part for wines to be released under the Oatley Estate (and Sunshine) labels. The Staas' connection with the wine industry is a long one, as they founded and owned a major label printing business, Assta Label House. Needless to say, the Oatley family is less than impressed, but there is no suggestion the registration of the Oatley Estate name is anything other than entirely legitimate. -JAMES HALLIDAY