Over the past 25 years, the harvest date for Australian wines has come forward almost one day a year, agricultural scientist Professor Snow Barlow says.

Pruning grapevines a month later is one of the tactics being employed by a major Australian winemaker to delay the growth of grapes, so they mature when they did before the seasons started to change.

National viticulturist for the Treasury Wine Estates Paul Petrie will this week present his findings on the delayed pruning of grapevines at the Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries (CCRSPI) conference in Melbourne.

Meanwhile we've seen several mechanical pre-pruning operations underway in North Coast vineyards as of this week, causing some viticulturists to say, "It's too early!" What are your thoughts or practices you're currently employing in the vineyard to counteract climate change, short labor supply or weather trends?