(Theconversation) - Wine grapes in Australia’s south are ripening on average 20 days earlier than they did in 1985, according to a study that attributes the trend to climate change, smaller harvests and improved technology at vineyards. CSIRO and University of Melbourne scientists who studied vintage records from ten vineyards in five regions found that between 1946 and 2009 grapes continued to mature earlier at all but one site. The trend towards earlier maturation accelerated between 1985 and 2009. The regions included in the study were from Victoria: Mornington Peninsula, Rutherglen and Central Victoria; South Australia: Eden Valley; and Western Australia: Margaret River.