Mel Chester is taking part in the Young Gun of Wine competition, with titles scheduled to be announced on June 18 during the Museum of Old And New Art’s popular winter festival Dark MOFO in Tasmania.

“We will all battle off against each other, though it’s not that stressful. In fact it’s all quite fun,” she said.

“We all get to show our wine while talking about, and celebrating, some of the great techniques and young winemakers in the industry.”

The boutique Sutton Grange Winery has been around for about 20 years, with Ms Chester the winemaker there for about three.

“We are at the southern end of the Bendigo growing region and are a 32-acre, organic vineyard,” Ms Chester said.

“We have the classics like Shiraz – we are really proud of that wine. Then we have some varieties that are less well-known, like Fiano and Sangiovese, which grows really well on our farm.”

She said one thing the competition judges seemed very attracted to was that her winery had entered a top quality central Victorian Shiraz and another wine that would appeal to younger generations.

Ms Chester and other finalists would now tour Sydney and Melbourne for people’s choice events. The Melbourne event would take place on Saturday 16 June.

Those who fancied a good drop would love discovering entries in the top 12, Ms Chester said.

“It’s an awesome collection not only of classical wineries but also of some lovely stories about young people from places like Western Australia, Canberra or Tassie,” she said.

“They are people who might be doing things you have not heard of or seen before. If you are someone like me, who wants to try something new, you could seek out some of those top 12 people and find something really interesting and different.”

Trophy presentations for the 2018 competition would take place at the MONA Gallery in Tasmania on June 18.

“That’s a place that celebrates all things artistic, yummy an beautiful. And it seems like a good place for a party,” Ms Chester said.

“It’ll be quite fun because most of the finalists are friends from the industry and it’s always a good little road trip with them.”

The event will see the 2018 Riedel Young Gun of Wine, the Best New Act, the People’s Choice and the Winemaker’s Choice awards up for grabs.

The Sutton Grange Winery’s cellar door was open every Sunday from 11am to 5pm and included products that had been submitted to the Young Gun of Wine competition.