Cloudy Bay Vineyard is asking for an area of its Northburn property to be earmarked for building despite the land being identified in the district plan as being at risk of a slip or subsidence.
The Overseas Investment Office granted consent for Cloudy Bay Vineyards Ltd to buy Northburn Wine Company Ltd earlier this year.
The deal comprised about 46ha of land near Cromwell, including a vineyard and The Shed cellar door and function centre.
Cloudy Bay is part of the Moet Hennessy Wine Division, of France, which in turn is part of LVMH, founded in 1987 after a merger between Moet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton.
An application by Cloudy Bay for consent to create a ''building envelope'' for farm buildings and associated activities will be considered by the Central Otago District Council's hearing panel next week.
In its application, the company said the direct threat from the Northburn slip was eliminated before Lake Dunstan was filled.
It filed a geotechnical report which said the area identified for development was free of any risk of slippage or subsidence that might cause material damage.
Cloudy Bay wanted to build an additional 12m by 4m shed, next to an existing shed and wanted to identify land in the area where future farm buildings and farming activities would be permitted.
Council planning consultant David Whitney said under the district plan rules, no buildings could be located within an area identified on the planning maps as land subject to a hazard.
However, the geotechnical report said rock buttressing before the lake was filled, remedied the risk posed by the Northburn slip.
All evidence since, showed the slip had been stable.
Mr Whitney recommended consent be granted, subject to eight conditions.
