Most visitors to the Hunter Valley know it as one of Australia's oldest and most celebrated wine regions. Fewer realise just how Scottish its origins really are. The Hunter Valley itself takes its name from Captain John Hunter, a Scotsman and the second Governor of New South Wales, while James Busby, often credited as the father of Australian wine, was born and raised in Edinburgh before bringing vine cuttings to these very hills and laying the foundations of the industry.
That heritage is precisely what the Hunter Valley Highland Games at Saltire Estate set out to celebrate. Saltire Estate itself carries the connection in its name and identity — a tribute to the blue and white flag of Scotland, chosen by Scottish-born owner Russell Leslie, who grew up in Dunfermline before establishing the winery in the Hunter. For Leslie, hosting the Games each year is as much a personal tribute as it is a community event, tying his own story to the broader Scottish thread running through this wine region's history.
The Games bring that heritage to life through pipe bands, Highland dancing, traditional athletics and Jacobite reenactments, all staged among the vines that Busby's legacy helped establish nearly two centuries ago.
While this year's Games have wrapped up, that same story continues at the Saltire Estate cellar door, which remains open and is widely regarded as a five-star winery experience — an easy and rewarding day trip from Sydney. Visitors can sip wines crafted in a region shaped by Scottish hands, surrounded by the same landscape that inspired both an industry and an annual celebration of heritage. It's history you can taste, glass by glass.
