The slowdown in wine consumption has left many producers with a storage headache.
The country is awash with more than 300 million litres (79 million gallons) of surplus wine at a time when workers are already in the fields to pick the current harvest.
Many vineyards lack the space for the grapes or the money to harvest, bottle and label for the 2021 season.
“Most sellers don’t have lots of space capacity in terms of tanks. And with the harvest starting now those tanks need to be ready to receive the 2021 harvest,” said Gerard Holden, owner of Holden Manz wine.
“You’re in a Catch-22,” he said.