WINE growers are furious a managed investment scheme company is planting wine grapes when the Australian wine industry has called for a government-sponsored vine pullout.
The news Barossa Vines is cultivating comes as a Barossa resident claims to have seen vineyards owned by the MIS company go unharvested.
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Industry figures are fuming yet more vines are being planted when the sector is in chronic oversupply.
But Barossa Vines says the plantings are unrelated to any MIS project and that the grapes are contracted.
BV director Antonio De Francesca said plantings for the company's last MIS project were already in the ground.
"There's a few acres going in now, but it's not subject to MIS at all," Mr De Francesco said.
"I have a contract for that fruit - the industry might be facing oversupply but BV isn't - we have our own label, 'Cat Amongst the Pigeons'."
A Barossa resident claimed the current plantings were the result of an MIS project, which was held up pending a council approval for works.
"It's on public record," the resident claimed.
The resident also said some of the company's MIS plantings, away from major roads, had gone unharvested.
Mr De Francesca admitted grapes had gone unharvested, but said they had been damaged by heat.
He said the company had a planning "hiccup" last year, but claimed the issue was unrelated to the current planting.
An industry analyst, who did not wish to be named, believed the plantings were MIS-related and doubted meaningful contracts existed for the grapes.
"There is a gross oversupply of grapes created by people like this who keep planting," the analyst said.
"Penfolds Bin 389 is a top wine - it sells about 150,000 cases. About 60,000 cases is equivalent to 100ha of vineyards, they've got more than 1000ha in and no contracts with major companies."
Barossa Grape and Wine Association chief executive Sam Holmes said there was enough vines already planted "to cover what all the wineries need".
"Any planting right now will contribute to oversupply," Mr Holmes said.
He said as many businesses had "producers licences", they could say their fruit was contracted because they planned to sell to themselves, regardless of whether there was a market.
Wine Grape Growers Australia executive director Mark Mackenzie said planting vines in the face of a glut was "crazy" and said MIS had "absolutely" contributed to oversupply.
"The industry is looking to rationalise, not plant more," he said.
