ANDREW Thomas is looking to take the “stuffiness” out of wine tasting.

Thomas, together with five other winemakers from The Hunter Valley, will bring pop up wine-tasting bars to five different venues around the country in May, including Canberra’s funky Two Before Ten.

Andrew says the travelling group, “Next Generation Hunter Valley,” formed in 2009, are “trying to break the barriers people think surround wine tasting.”

“People think of it as a stuffy, pretentious affair with lots of old men in tweed suits sniffing and twirling,” Andrew says.

“We have a different demographic, in previous years we attract a much younger crowd, 20 – 30 year olds, and they’re real wine enthusiasts.”

The men will each have four of their own wines to taste at the bar, accompanied by cheese platters, live music and a relaxed atmosphere.

“The image of The Hunter Valley is a bit stale and old fashioned and we’re trying to demonstrate to people we’re not, we own our own brands, we make the wines ourselves, we’re certainly producing wines that people would not expect from The Hunter Valley, they’re a lot more contemporary, aromatic,” says Andrew.

The group will also travel to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Newcastle – but unlike previous years, they’ll be flying instead of driving the distance.

Next Generation pop up wine bar, Thursday May 16, 6pm – 9pm, Two Before Ten, 40 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra City. Tickets, $35, on sale now at newgenerationhuntervalley.com.au/events.html