Aiming high: meet the 12 finalists in 2019 Young Gun of Wine

The final 12 winemakers in the running for the 2019 Young Gun of Wine have been announced. They are:

Queensland
Andrew Scott from La Petite Mort, Granite Belt

South Australia
Damon Koerner from Koerner Wine, Clare Valley
Sacha La Forgia from Adelaide Hills Distillery, Adelaide Hills
Vanessa Altmann from Switch Organic Wine, Eden Valley/McLaren Vale

Victoria
Ben Ranken from Wilimee, Macedon Ranges
Jayden Ong from Jayden Ong/One Block, Yarra Valley
Shaun Crinion from Dappled Wines, Yarra Valley
Simon Killeen from Simao & Co Wines, Rutherglen

Western Australia
Genevieve Mann and Rob Mann from Corymbia, Swan Valley
Liv Maiorana and Mijan Patterson from South by South West, Margaret River
Remi Guide from tripe.Iscariot, Margaret River
Rhys Parker and Paul Hoffman from Vallée du Venom, Margaret River/Swan Valley

“Following a nationwide search for the best young labels and emerging winemakers in the country, 50 winemakers have been narrowed down to 12, with representation from across all corners of Australia,” awards founder Rory Kent said.

“The final 12 consist of four labels from Western Australia, four from Victoria, three from South Australia, and in good news for the Sunshine State, Andrew Scott from La Petite Mort in the Granite Belt region has secured the first-ever final 12 place for Queensland in Young Gun of Wine’s 13-year history.

“With women occupying less than 10 percent of Australia’s winemaker roles, it’s a great result to see four female winemakers grace the final 12, including winemaking duo Liv Maiorana & Mijan Patterson from South by South West, Vanessa Altman from Switch Organic Wine and Genevieve Mann from Corymbia.

Trophies up for grabs for the Final 12 in this year’s awards include the prestigious Young Gun of Wine, Best New Act, Winemaker’s Choice and People’s Choice. The First Drop Danger Zone will go to the most adventurous wine from the Top 50 winemkaers.

The judges for 2019 include Rory Kent, Nick Stock, Mike Bennie, Pip Anderson, Josephine Perry, Rob Mack, Penny Grant and international guest judge Leah Rinadli from the USA’s leading distributor of natural wines, Jenny & Francois. They tasted over 250 wines over two days at King & Godfree.

Public tastings are being held in Sydney on Thursday 30 May at 6pm, and in Melbourne on Saturday June 1 at 12pm to determine the People’s Choice winner. Open for every wine lover, attendees will be asked to taste each wine presented in person by each of the final 12, and vote on their favourite on the day.

For more details and ticketing, please see younggunofwine.com or Eventbrite.com.au.