Bathurst may be a small winemaking region compared to others, but its award-winning vignerons are just as dedicated.

Mark Renzaglia, from Renzaglia Wines, said all of his white varieties have been picked and were currently fermenting.

“I think is going to be a really good year. We’ve had five pretty decent years in a row,” he said.

Mr Renzaglia said his red varieties will be picked within the next few weeks.

“We might be really excited about the reds,” he said of how the grapes are looking. “It’s all about the taste, the quality. Quantity is important, but I’d much rather have a smaller crop of really good quality.”

Bathurst Region Vignerons Association chair Tony Hatch has just finished picking his pinot grigio variety at his vineyard, Vale Creek Wines.

“It’s fermenting and it’s looking really good, but more importantly, it’s tasting good,” he said.

Bathurst’s vignerons were concerned about the ongoing hot weather during summer, but Mr Hatch said there has been sufficient rain to ripen grapes.

Grass Parrot Vineyard’s Sarah Macarthur said they were hoping to start picking on Friday, but late Tuesday she was concerned about the amount of rainfall.

“It could be a worry if we get too much … it might slow down ripening,” she said.