William Salter arrived in South Australia from Exeter, England aboard the Caroline in December, 1839 and in 1844 this recently arrived immigrant was one of the first people to purchase land in the newly opened land survey known as the Barossa Valley.

In 1859, Salter formed a partnership with his son Edward, then aged 22, founding the firm W Salter & Son and they began their vineyard operations with the clearing and planting of 10 acres of shiraz at the eastern end of the property. A shed was erected for making wine and a cellar was carved out of a nearby hill.

Their first vintage in 1862 produced 1800 gallons (8000 litres) By 1891 the size of the vintage had grown to 40,000 gallons (182,000 litres).

In 1871, William Salter passed away leaving Edward to run the property. Edward planted more vines and by 1873, the vintage was harvested from 12 hectares of Shiraz and 4 hectares of Palomino grapes used for sherry. In the same year, Edward employed Alfred Birks who introduced Saltram wines to New Zealand before setting up the famous AP Birks winery in Clare.

In 1882, Salter made an arrangement with prominent wine merchant Thomas Hardy who undertook to buy all of Saltram's wine then find a market for it. This arrangement was in place for 10 years and Hardy is credited with establishing Saltram wines in London.

By 1891 the size of the vintage had grown to 182,000 litres, 3/4 of which was high quality dry red, mainly shiraz, for export markets. In 1898, Edward's sons Charles and Leslie entered into a partnership with their father each holding a quarter share of the business. Charles was appointed manager, a position he held until 1902 when he left to start his own business.

Leslie succeeded his brother and separated the winemaking operations from the viticulture and focussed on red wine production for export. The quality was good and the Saltram wines received a number of awards abroad.

Leslie Salter had been educated at Roseworthy College and became a close friend of Ronald Martin of ‘Stonyfell’. Martin bought a third share of W Salter & Son in 1920 assuming the role of Chairman of Directors. When Leslie Salter resigned as Managing Director in 1937, Saltram vineyard was managed by H.M Martin of Stonyfell and in 1941 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Martin's. The two operations worked in tandem with winemaking being performed at Saltram and Stonyfell being used for maturation and bottling.

In 1938, winemaking was put into the hands of Fred Ludlow who had been in the service of Saltram since 1917 - he retained this position until retirement in 1953. A young Brian Dolan graduated from Roseworthy college in 1949 and was appointed manager at Saltram by Henry Martin. By 1954 Brian had taken full winemaking control at Saltram in the position of Senior Winemaker and was eventually promoted to General Manager of H.M Martin and Son in 1959. Brian continued as General Manager and later as Production Director through until 1979, concluding a distinguished 30-year involvement with Saltram winemaking.

In 1960, the legendary Peter Lehmann succeeded Dolan at Saltram. Lehmann lightened the traditional styles and made distinctive reds and fine ports. He encouraged the planting of cabernet sauvignon, harvested earlier for better pH control and introduced new oak casks.

In 1979 Lehman left Saltram to form what is today known as Peter Lehmann Wines. The late 70s through to the early 90s were difficult times at Saltram with ownership changes and management shuffling seeing the focus on wine styles continually shifting.

In 1992, things took a turn for the better when Brian Dolan's son, Nigel, who was born in Mamre Brook House, was appointed as chief winemaker. Nigel's first vintage with Saltram was actually as a cellar-hand in 1979 but returned to carry the mantle of head winemaker until 2007.

Nigel took Saltram back to its roots, focussing on Barossa sourced grapes and the styles of wine that had made Saltram famous for a century. Nigel's achievements during his time with Saltram include being named South Australian Red Winemaker of the Year in 1996 and Barossa Winemaker of the Year in 2000. In 2001 he was a finalist in the Qantas Australian Winemaker of the Year competition and in 2003 he was the winner of one of Australian wines greatest prizes.

In 2008, Shavaughn Wells was appointed Saltram Senior Winemaker. After years working with the wines and vineyards behind the scenes, Shavaughn is proud to now carry on the rich winemaking tradition in her own right.

In 2009, Saltram celebrates its 150th anniversary. To mark this milestone, Saltram releases a 1959 Vintage Rare Tawny and the first release of The Journal Shiraz and celebrates with intimate dinners with Saltram lovers around the country.

In 2010, Saltram releases the first of its Estate Grown wines. Sourced from the unique vineyards that surround the Saltram Estate in the heart of the Barossa Valley, the new Shiraz Tempranillo is a modern blend from an old master.