The pipes are calling: Highland games arrive in Lovedale hosted by most Scottish of wineries

This is sponsored content for Saltire Estate.

If you have been out rambling in the countryside around Lovedale's Saltire Estate winery recently you might have spotted a group of burly blokes getting very excited about the property's stones.

Led by Craig Reid, a champion in traditional Scottish and strength sports, they were on the hunt for the perfect hunks of stone to test the kilted athletes set to flex their muscles at the inaugural Hunter Valley Highland Games being hosted by the winery on Saturday, November 30.

The selected stones - weighing in at up to 150 kilograms - will be lifted, carried and cajoled by the men and women who will be pitting their strength and skills against each other in the battle to be named highlander champion.

"The stones we've chosen will be very challenging so it's going to be interesting for the athletes and something very exciting to watch," said Mr Reid, one of the organisers of the National Highlander Championships, the five event challenge heading up the program at the celebration of Scottish culture and tradition.

Although the inaugural event, the games have sparked strong interest among some of the best athletes in the field, said Mr Reid, with competitors travelling from Queensland and Victoria. In a first for an Australian highland games, both men and women competitions will run concurrently with equal prize money for each.

The challenge of lifting and carrying stones in their natural habitat has been an age old part of Scottish life.

Highland muscle: Aaron Monks is one of the champion Australian athletes vying for the top spot at the National Highlander Championships. As well as competing domestically and overseas, he's lifted Scotland's famous Dinnie Stones unassisted.

"Stone lifting is very traditional in Scotland and also other cultures around the world, whether it was for training for battle or a progression to manhood," Mr Reid said. "And in Scotland specifically there are a lot of stones that have history attached to them."

Saltire Estate is an apt setting for the highland gathering.

While the Hunter wine industry's connection with Scotland runs deep, (Scotsman James Busby brought the first vines to the region in the 1830s), Saltire Estate's owner Russell Leslie is also a born and bred Scotsman.

Originally from the historic town of Dunfermline, north of Edinburgh, Mr Leslie's passion for his homeland is on show with his winery's name and branding - saltire is the name for the distinctive blue and white Scottish flag.

Flying at the entrance of Saltire Estate in Wilderness Road, the flag has lured in many passersby with Scottish connections.

"They just hit the brakes and have to see what it's all about," said Saltire's Estate Manager, Mercedes Mendoza, who also has Scottish heritage on her mother's side.

"We have really been embraced by the Scottish community and we love highland games so it seemed like a natural fit for us."

Scottish heritage: The beautiful Saltire Estate has close links to Scotland.

The athletes doing these astonishing things with heavy stones and weights, as well as with a caber, is just part of the packed program planned for the games.

There will be plenty of music, dancing and food, plus delicious Saltire wines to enjoy.

The most Scottish of all sounds, the bagpipes, will be provided by some of the region's best traditional bands, including the City of Maitland Pipes and Drum Band and the City of Newcastle RSL Pipe Band.

There will be Scottish dancing displays by local groups featuring the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society of Maitland.

"When most people think of Scottish dancing they think of highland dancing with lots of jumping," Ms Mendoza said.

"But this is country dancing which is a slightly more boisterous version of what you see Keira Knightly doing in Pride and Prejudice."

Ms Mendoza said Saltire Estate is planning to make the games an annual event.

"An annual games are a great way for us to express Scottish traditions and heritage which are at the heart of this winery but also to bring more people to the beautiful area of Lovedale which has so much to offer," she said.

The inaugural Hunter Valley Highland Games are happening on Saturday, November 30 from 10am to 4pm. Tickets are available from the Hunter Valley Highland Games website.

As well as immersing yourself in all things Scottish, the event is a chance to try the winery's latest release, Saltire Moscato. Made from the Gordo Muscat grape, this light and spritzy wine is pale pink in colour with an intense varietal aromas of sherbert, elderflower, orange blossom and lemon.

This is sponsored content for Saltire Estate.