(TDB) - In what has been described by the Italian press as a “wine war”, winemakers in Tuscany have been warned that too many vineyards could be damaging to the environment.

Tuscany’s regional government has warned winemakers that the use of pesticides and fertilisers can lead to the pollution of groundwater and that an overabundance of vines could contribute to soil erosion and landslides, as reported by The Telegraph.

The warning comes in the form of a 3,000 page development plan proposed by the regional government which is now being reviewed by producers of Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti and other key Tuscan wine regions.

The report singled out Brunello di Montalcino, responsible for producing some of Italy’s finest wines, and warned vineyards there had already increased the risk of erosion.

It also targets the village of Bolgheri, in the lowland Maremma region of Tuscany where, according to Stefano Carnicelli, a scientist who contributed to the proposal: “The aquifer (An underground layer of water-bearing rock) is not protected and the intensive use of fertilisers has released nitrates into the groundwater.”

The document, compiled by experts from the universities of Florence, Pisa and Siena, said that planting too many vineyards produced a “monoculture” that was unhealthy for the environment.

Critics have also claimed the deforestation of the region’s hills have made them less able to absorb heavy rainfall.

The debate kicked off after a violent storm caused a river to burst its bank, sending a torrent of water through a local beauty spot and drowning four people.