Additional reporting Chris Brook-Carter

The listed wine producer Evans & Tate has reacted angrily to claims by the West Australian Wine Industry Association that the State faces a red wine glut.

In a statement released to just-drinks, Evans & Tate chief executive  Franklin Tate said calls claims were "misguided and unhelpful  having no regard for the industry's goals and the currently highly competitive international market."

WAWIA chief Sarah Dent had earlier told media producers had millions of litres sitting in tanks that would soon be needed for the 2004 vintage.

Tate continued: "In the first instance, to imply homogeneity across the whole of the Western Australian wine industry is very misleading.

"The WA wine industry comprises nine different growing regions, spanning in excess of 400km, each having very different terroirs and climatic circstances. To generalise and imply uniformity is very misguided in the context of this assessment.

"We are certainly not aware of any glut in red wine," he added.

Tate went on to say that all producers manage their own circumstances.

"Quite clearly there are many variables that can impact individual producer circumstances. With 80% of WA's wineries now processing less than 250 tonnes per year and seeking to compete in the narrow and highly competitive super or ultra premium market, competition can be tough and business plans are not always realised at an individual producer level.

"The notion that all of this somehow translates into an industry wide phenomenon and further that the whole industry is somehow awash with unplaced inventories of red wine, is inaccurate and misleading."