Two Tonne Tasmania, run by Ricky Evans, was the people’s champion at the annual Young Guns of Wine event, held in Victoria last month.

Two Tonne Tasmania produces two types of pinot noir wine, both of which were sent as samples for the event.

Mr Evans said it was the “ultimate tick of approval” to win People’s Choice.

Live tasting events are held twice a year, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne, where people vote with their feet which wine sample they like best.

“It’s really good for an emerging brand like mine to be backed by public support,” Mr Evans said.

“That people were willing to give up their money and take something home, it really affirms the styles that I am chasing are relevant in the marketplace.”

Mr Evans is a winemaker at Bay of Fires on the East Coast but his personal label Two Tonne Tasmania has produced pinots from the Tamar Valley since 2013.

He decided to get into winemaking because it blended his loves for agriculture and science.

He said gaining the award was a two-fold win: “It’s a double sided thing, on one side the panel of judges has acknowledged what I’m doing is quality driven but the public has also acknowledged its quality.”

Mr Evans said Tasmanian pinot noir was having a moment in the wine scene and said there were at least seven samples represented in the final 12 of the Young Guns of Wine event.

“Tasmanian pinot is becoming a benchmark in Australia,” he said.

He said he loved the variety of wine because of its ability to produce a “snapshot of a region” and because it allowed him to express style in his own way.

“It’s a snapshot of the Tamar Valley, it really puts the spotlight on this region,” he said.

The Tamar Valley is an ideal and diverse microclimate to produce wine because of its mild climate, according to Mr Evans.

“It’s a pretty warm region, we have a nice long summer, a long, mild summer, that is what you need to make quality pinot.”

Mr Evans said he was looking to produce a label that was known for quality, not one that would “take over the world.” He has plans to introduce new varieties to the Two Tonne Tasmania label later in the year.

The Young Guns of Wine People’s Choice decider nights were held in Sydney on June 25 and in Melbourne on June 30. For more information go to http://younggunsofwine.com/