It's a picturebook scene that will be enjoyed by many of the thousands of visitors to next weekend's (June 6-8) Shoalhaven Coast Winter Wine Festival.

For Shayne and Alison Bricker, owners of Two Figs Winery on the Bolong Road at Shoalhaven Heads, it's a view they are only too happy to share with visitors to their boutique winery and one of the reasons why they recently picked up a gong for the region's best small cellar door. Life on the land is a far cry from their former life in the United States, where Shayne worked as a corporate IT high flyer and spent much of his time travelling the world in aeroplanes.

Sick of the hustle and bustle, they decided it was time to pack up and head home to Australia in search of a new lifestyle.

"We wanted to find a place that was coastal ... we settled on this property in the Shoalhaven and I thought I'd make a bit of wine as a hobby," Bricker recalled this week.

But as the saying goes, "from little things, big things grow" and the Brickers gradually turned their lifestyle into a business. They don't agree with the philosophy that bigger is better but have three of their 140 acres acres under vine including chardonnay, cabernet, shiraz and merlot and source additional fruit from growers in the region to run their 10-tonne capacity winery at full steam.

The Brickers also breed Angus beef cattle and supply 40 beasts each year to the market.

From the get go Shayne Bricker, who now serves as president of the Shoalhaven Coast Wine Association, was keen to have his wines assessed by the best judges in the country.

"It was critical, going to wine shows was the best thing I ever did to improve my wines," Bricker says.

"I didn't view it as being a tough learning curve, I viewed it as an opportunity."

Bricker has also spent time as a wine show associate judge, working side by side with some of the best palates in the business.

It was during one show that he met the masterful Mudgee winemaker David Lowe.

"David came out to our property after the show and spent three hours going through the winery, the vineyard and tasting our wines," Bricker says.

"That one visit made a significant difference to my winemaking philosophy.

"With the chardonnay block, I was sold on a high alcohol style by leaving the fruit on the vines for as long as possible. But David convinced me to pick earlier and that change of philosophy led to us winning a gold medal for our chardonnay."

Bricker's portfolio now includes chardonnay, verdelho, pinot gris, viognier, rose, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, chambourcin, fortifieds and several blends.

All of them will be available for tasting over the festival weekend, which Bricker says continues to grow in stature and prominence.

"The reason why the festival was kicked off was to get our region's wineries on the map, particularly with people from Canberra and Sydney," Bricker said.

"Over the 12 years it has certainly done that and it is now a major event on the South Coast calendar.

"Last year we had 6000 visitors and we've been growing at 20 to 30 per cent per year so it's having an enormous effect.

"I would argue that's it's a having a significant effect on the whole of the economy, including restaurants, accommodation and other tourist outlets."

Wineries from Gerringong to Shoalhaven Heads, Berry, Kangaroo Valley, Bangalee, Multon-Ulladulla and Bawley Point will open their cellar doors for a three-day extravaganza of wine tasting, fine food and entertainment.

Festival-goers can purchase a commemorative wine glass at the first winery they visit and this entitles them to free tastings at each of the participating wineries.

■ For more details, including bookings on the hop-on hop-off bus, go to shoalhavencoastwine.com.au or visit the festival on Facebook.