One thing that became incredibly apparent in 2007 is this: the wine industry is evolving, and producers have to go with it, or become lost in the shuffle. Last year we saw horrible weather (from torrential rains to terrible droughts) have major effects on grape yields. We also saw a big push for oraganic and biodynamic wines.

The San Jose Mercury News lists what some of the top trends for this year will be (in their opinion), and this is one I am especially interested in:

4. Some wine producers will become more transparent about their winemaking practices.

OK, maybe this is mostly wishful thinking, since openness and transparency are things I've been arguing for in recent months. Honesty can come back to haunt winemakers, as was the case in the PBS program "Wired Science," in which the use of certain technologies was derided as manipulation and a "dirty little secret." But I've found a number of winemakers to be remarkably open, describing in detail (if asked) some of their practices. A few years ago, one winemaker even replicated for me an experiment that his winery did with adding powdered tannins to wines.

Randall Grahm at Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz is taking a big step this year in the direction of transparency: He will start listing ingredients on the back labels of his wines. The labels, which will appear on the 2006 reds and 2007 whites, include all ingredients contained in the wine and used in the production of the wines (even when, in the latter case, none of the substance remains in the wine).

Grahm says he's adopting the new labels to show his commitment to minimalist winemaking practices. He thinks such a move will be good for the industry and hopes it will start a conversation. "I don't really want to tell people how to make their wines, and I don't want to preach," he says, "but I just want to set a good example. It's a little provocative, but I think it's a good thing."

In a way, I think the idea of labeling goes hand-in-hand with the push towards "green" wines. People are becoming more aware of what they consume, and why shouldn't that include wine? Originally I was very much opposed to wine labelling. Why take the romance and mystery out of that beautiful bottle sitting on the dinner table? But the more I think about it, the more I think that winemakers shouldn't be afraid to let us know what goes into that bottle.

I'm also curious how high prices are going to go, especially for imported wines. I've already seen rather big price jumps at the turn of the new year, reflecting how poor the U.S. dollar is doing compared to the Euro. But domestic wines aren't immune. Due to rising oil prices I think we're going to see price increases here as well.

2008. It'll be an interesting year!