A total of 11 judges were busy over the week tasting the 615 entries in this year’s show, which the community will have the opportunity to try at tomorrow night’s public tasting event.

The judging is done according to a universal system, where each judge can give out a total of 20 points per wine – three points for colour, seven for nose and ten for taste.

Yesterday afternoon the trophy wines were decided, with the potential for around 14 to be awarded including the best red and best white in show.

Chairman of the NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show committee, Alistair Lunn said not every class of wine will necessarily be awarded a gold medal.

“If there’s no wine worthy of getting gold, then there will be no gold medal awarded for that class,” he said.

“They have to get a certain score to qualify - the best wine doesn’t get it automatically.”

The wines are judged based on a blind tasting, so there is no outside influence.

“It’s all about the wine in the glass on the day,” treasurer Andrew Kerr said.

Forbes Youth and Community Centre was overflowing with approximately 2,500 bottles of top quality wine with entries coming from some of the best wine regions in NSW including the Hunter Valley, Southern Highlands, Canberra, Mudgee and Orange.

Local wines in this year’s show are Banderra Estate owned by John Saleh and Eleanor Lewis and Dr Neale Somes’ Incinerator Hill wine.

Everyone is invited to a public tasting night tomorrow night at the Forbes Youth and Community Centre starting at 6.30pm.

Cost is $25 a head which includes nibbles and all the wines you can taste.

This will be followed by the presentation dinner on Saturday, September 20, which features a five course meal with all the trophy-winning wines.

The presentation dinner will be at Forbes Services Memorial Club and costs $80 to attend.