"I would have been just happy to have taken part."
The best thing about the win, which was announced at a dinner at Church Road Winery on Friday night, was finally being able to realise that she had the ability to succeed in a career she loved.
"For me personally, it's telling me that actually I can do this. I've always had this niggling doubt that I wouldn't be good.
"I'm so happy ... I feel like a rock star. I've got a big grin on my face, a massive spring in my step."
One of the organisers, Hannah Burns, said Miss Addis was a strong competitor and worthwhile winner.
"She was well ahead of the other competitors across most of the divisions, she did really well."
Miss Addis' love of wine stemmed from her parents, who have a particular fondness for Marlborough sauvignon blanc.
She never considered wine-making as a career option when she was younger because it wasn't really a possibility in the United Kingdom.
However, after working at a cellar door while travelling, she realised she had stumbled upon her dream career.
"It's so amazing to have a job I love. I love wine; it's my passion, my job, my life."
Her favourite wine? It all depends on the company, the weather, the food and the occasion, Miss Addis said.
"I love Hawke's Bay chardonnay, I love pinot noir and cab sauvs are one of my favourites."
The young winemaker moved to New Zealand in 2013 for a harvest job in Marlborough where she met her partner who has slowly developed his own taste for wine after some convincing from Miss Addis.
"He didn't drink wine at all when I met him."
Miss Addis then got a fulltime job and after some travel and work in Europe moved to Hawke's Bay in February to study a Graduate Diploma in Viticulture this year and a Graduate Diploma in Oenology next year.
Following her studies, she hopes to stay in Hawke's Bay, depending on jobs, until eventually settling down in Central Otago (her partner's hometown) and becoming a winemaker at a vineyard there.
"I really love it here, I definitely want to stay in New Zealand."
She works at Trinity Hill part-time as a lab assistant, cellar hand and on the cellar door.
The competition on Friday included a speech, a written exam, finding faults in wine, a cellar challenge, a blending task and wine tasting.
Her rivals were runner-up Tom Hindmarsh (Dry River Wines), Andrew Bao (Hawke's Bay Wine Company), Lochy Bainbridge (Ash Ridge Wines) and Haidee Johnson (Te Awa).
The South Island final will be held on August 25 in Marlborough ahead of the national final in Auckland on September 20, which Miss Addis will take part in.
The winner will walk away with a travel allowance, training grant, registration to the Romeo Bragato conference, a profile in Cuisine Magazine, a wine allowance and a trip to Tonnellerie de Mercurey in France.
