Many of the group have been volunteering at the show for the last decade and they all said it was something they look forward to.

Judging was intense at the show this week and the aroma of wine wafted through the Bathurst Showground pavilion, but off to the side there was a lot of giggling.

This dedicated group of volunteers have known each other for years, some right back to the days of the now defunct Bathurst Region Eats & Drinks (Bre&d).

National Cool Climate Wine Show volunteer co-ordinator Llewellyn Jones said there are a number of vital roles the volunteers perform across the four-day event.

They start by setting up the judging room and the make-shift kitchen. They also organise the 3200-plus wines that make up this year’s event.

Volunteers also pour each wine for the judging panel and ensure there is a steady supply of washed and polished glasses to drink from.

Win Stockman and her husband John have been wine show volunteers for a decade and the couple say they enjoy the behind-the-scenes frivolity.

“It’s fun and it’s actually quite interesting because you get to see the judges work,” she said. “We catch up with people [fellow volunteers] year after year.”

Mr Stockman agreed and also said that volunteers were vital to the Bathurst community.

“If you don’t support the people in your community it doesn’t happen,” he said of events such as the wine show.

Another volunteer, Robin Price, was jovial during Thursday’s judging and said events like this highlight the marvelous Bathurst community.

He also admitted he likes to hear which wines were medal winners, especially the reds.

“If it’s red and comes out of a bottle, I’ll drink it,” Mr Price laughed.

During Thursday’s morning session for volunteers, Bill Baines had nominated himself chief glass washer.

When he was told that to accommodate all the judges’ sampling during this year’s show that 3240 wine glasses must be washed and polished, his answer was simple.

“That makes me feel very tired,” he laughed.

Nigel Bagley is another long-time volunteer at the wine show and was among the frivolity in the event’s make-shift glass washing kitchen.

“Most of us are retirees and I just like volunteering,” he said.

Jean Siede and her husband Richard make up another couple of volunteers at the show.

“I do it to support the industry,” she said.

While some volunteers said they would attend Friday’s always-popular public tasting of all the wines entered in the show, others said they took the night off to relax.

The group will also be back at the Bathurst Showground on Saturday to pack up after a job well done.