Natalie Bishop, the estate manager at Coolangatta Estate, said while the grapes on the vines were of "outstanding quality", she was cautious about making any predictions about the coming harvest due to past experiences.

She said 2022 was shaping up as a bumper harvest at the Shoalhaven Heads property, until floods hit at the last minute.

"We haven't had a full harvest for five years due to fires and floods, in fact last year the yield was down 60 per cent," Ms Bishop said.

However with this summer producing plenty of rain and sunshine, but without any of the 40 degree days that are common this time of year, "things are looking a lot better", Ms Bishop said.

"We're excited for this year, and just hoping that the rain will hold off and we'll get a full crop," she said.

Coolangatta Estate grows 10 grape varieties - six whites and four reds - and Ms Bishop said they expect to start harvesting in the next two weeks with the Verdelho crop.

She had been speaking to wineries in the Hunter Valley who had already harvested their white wine grapes, and were starting to pick their red wine varieties.

"Their yields are down slightly but their quality's been exceptional, and we're looking at something similar," Mr Bishop said.

Further south at Ulladulla the head winemaker at Cupitt's Estate, Wally Cupitt, said he was "in that same frame of mind, we think it's going to be great, but who knows what can happen in the next month".

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the weather, "We're quietly confident it's going to be a cracking vintage," he said.

Mr Cupitt said he had high hopes for his Sauvignon Blanc crop, which he expected to start harvesting about mid-February.

He was also expecting the yield to be slightly down on average, but said it was still a major improvement on recent years.

"I think we've only got 700 litres of wine off our vineyard since 2019 due to disease and birds and fires, but this year looks like we're going to get slightly below our average tonnage off the vineyard, and the quality is looking okay," Mr Cupitt said.

While the estate's fruit is usually supplemented by grapes grown in other regions, Mr Cupitt said those regions were facing struggles this year, including as large percentage of Canberra's crops being lost to frost.

The tough conditions of recent years have not stopped local wineries continuing to collect awards.

Coolangatta Estate is again leading the way, with a dozen or more trophies in 2023 adding to a growing tally.

"We've just ticked over 2200 wine awards at the end of 2023, so we're one of the most awarded wineries in the country, which is pretty awesome for a small, family-owned operation."

The estate produced its first vintage in 1990, but it was a few years before owner Greg Bishop entered his first competition.

After Coolangatta won its first award for a Chardonnay, it has been a regular feature of wine awards.

About half the winery's awards have been won by its Semillon variety, despite the challenges that come with growing grapes in a region subject to extreme weather conditions and buffeted by coastal winds.