It is a story about pioneers, men and women who transformed the Hunter Valley of NSW, planted grapes there, and looked for better ways to make wine. English immigrant Edward Tyrrell planted his first vines in the Hunter Valley in 1858 establishing Tyrrell's Wines after receiving a land grant in apparently poor pastureland in the lee of the Hunter Valley's Brokenback range.

In 1895, Jame's grandson, John Younie Tulloch (J.Y. Tulloch) owned the Branxton General Store and accepted an unusual settlement for a debt owed to him - a 43 acre property in nearby Pokolbin. Tulloch took an immediate liking to the property and the five acres of neglected Shiraz vines it contained and undertook his first foray into viticulture and winemaking, which began the family tradition.

Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc are considered a perfect match because one compliments the other, bringing all the desired flavours and complexity of a great wine together. Semillon adds the texture, body and richness to Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc offers the structure, raciness and backbone to Semillon. A cross-Tasman marriage of components, blended to create a wine offering the best of both worlds, makes a perfectly balanced drop with an appropriate name – See Saw.

Scarborough has been producing its unique style of wines since 1987. The estate continues to be one of the few companies to be based exclusively around Hunter Valley wines, and have been awarded a 5-star rating by James Halliday for being an outstanding winery capable of producing wines of the highest calibre. Ian Scarborough specialises in Chardonnay, from the full-flavoured Yellow Label to the light, crisp Blue Label style, this varietal has become synonymous with Scarborough!

Located thirty kilometres west of the main Hunter vineyard region, the original 32 hectare property is named after the monolith on its southern boundary, which in turn takes its name from a prominent local character who lived in the area over 100 years ago. Four prime hectares were planted solely to chardonnay vines, an endeavour described by legendary Australian winemaker, Murray Tyrrell, as the viticultural showpiece of Hunter Valley. David Clarke spent two years in search of this ideal site, one that would provide a suitable microclimate and alluvial soils conducive to the production of premium chardonnay. He engaged viticultural consultant Di Davidson to assist with the vineyard’s design. Development and planting commenced in spring 1988. They took meticulous care in establishing the vineyard, which is fully irrigated. The vines are now fully mature and producing remarkable quality fruit.

Over the years Pepper Tree have acquired vineyards in the Orange, Wrattonbully and Coonawarra growing areas to enable the winemaker production of varietal wines that either did not grow as well in the Hunter Valley, or are different expressions of a particular varietal that are of interest to connoisseurs of fine wines. The character and complexity reflected in the Appellation wines are an expression of diverse vineyard resources. A second is the balance and elegance in the Multi-Regional range of varietals. These are blends of a varietal wine made from grapes grown at two or more of vineyards that vary from year to year. All Pepper Tree wines are produced, aged and bottled at the winery.

The Griffith-based McWilliam family, already a famous Australian wine company, purchased a half share of the Estate and encouraged O’Shea to continue with his winemaking style and creations. McWilliam’s acquired the remaining share in 1941. It was with the McWilliam family’s financial backing O’Shea selected and purchased the Lovedale and Rosehill properties and planted them in 1946. O’Shea’s groundbreaking work has been kept alive by revered winemakers Brian Walsh and Phil Ryan. The fact that there have been just three Chief Winemakers at Mount Pleasant since 1921 has ensured consistency of wine style and quality.

Brian McGuigan is recognised as a trailblazer in viticulture, with world class vineyards utilising best viticultural practices. McGuigan was named Australian Wine Company of the Year at the 2003 Winestate Magazine Awards. The Award was given on the strength of McGuigan's wines in extensive tastings run by the magazine during the past 12 months. All the tastings are run 'blind', assuring that wine quality is the only measure.

A graduate of London’s famous St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, Henry Lindeman discovered winemaking while travelling through Europe in the late 1830s. Fascinated by wine’s medicinal benefits, he devoted much of his time to learning the skilful craft. In 1840, he returned to England to marry Eliza Bramhall and within weeks, the couple embarked on a four-month voyage to start a new life in the Australian colonies.

At the time of its establishment very little premium wine was drunk, there was no capital to invest, and Cabernet was an unproven grape for the area. Its name was almost a foregone conclusion and Lakes Folly was born!

Originating from Italy the De Iuliis family have made the Hunter region their home since 1960. After a long successful career in the Hunter mining industry, Joss and Anna De Iuliis were inspired to follow their family passion for wine and chose a property in the Lovedale Road region of the Lower Hunter Valley, converting a grazing property into a 20ha vineyard with the first vines planted in 1990. For the first decade they provided fruit for some of the Hunter Valley’s biggest names. It wasn't until their son Michael finished his postgraduate studies in Oenology at the world renowned Roseworthy campus (Adelaide University) in 1999 with remarkable results that dynamic of the business changed from grape growing to wine production.

Brokenwood was founded by a trio of Sydney-based solicitors, Tony Albert, John Beeston and James Halliday, who paid a then record price of $970 per acre for a 10-acre block in the foothills of the Brokenback Ranges. The original block - originally planned as a cricket ground for the local community was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

The original 1890s Allandale wineworks had a capacity of 518,000 gallons and included some fine stocks of claret and hock. It was one of the early pioneers of the Hunter Valley wine industry, exporting vintages to enthusiasts of Australian wine throughout the British Empire. In 1891 Allandale was awarded the champion medal for NSW and received over 70 awards in exhibitions around the world. It was technologically advanced for the time, separating the stalks from the fruit before pressing, employing centrifugal pumps for racking the ferments. Historical records are scarce on who owned and operated the old Allandale Winery and why it ceased operation in the late 1920s.