Three major wineries entered the fray in a growing initiative to thwart the planned establishment of a coal mine near the Margaret River in Western Australia.

Constellation Wines, owner and operator of the Brookland Valley, Houghton and Amberley wineries, is opposing the proposed coal mine operations as it feared that such activities would result to environmental, social and economical damages for the region.

Constellation spokeswoman Anita Poddar said that a full-scale mining near the river would inevitably hurt the wine region as she cited that the proposed coal mine could potentially threaten the area with ground water contamination, air quality deterioration and wine grape tainting.

Ms Poddar called on the state government to insulate the area from further mining developments since the region surrounding the Margaret River almost entirely depends on earnings delivered by the wine and tourism industry.

She said that Constellation is specifically concerned "about the potential impact not only on the area's image but also potential ground water contamination and also what impact heavy truck traffic could have."

To further ensure that the region is protected from the damaging impact of large-scale mining activities, Constellation said that the Western Australian government needs to introduce legislation that would restrict the entry of mining in the Margaret River region.

Ms Poddar cited the case of the Houghton winery that the company also operates in the Swan Valley area, where she pointed out that "the introduction of legislation there to protect the environment has been beneficial to the environment so we think that would set a sound precedent for the Margaret River region too."