To most consumers, one bottle of wine looks pretty much like another, and vintages don’t really matter.

Yet, the wine business is made up of trends and strategies that change from time to time — affected by such things as vintages that do matter (at least for some wines) and issues that seemingly have nothing to do with wine but have as great an impact as does the hand of the wine maker.

A thick book could be written about all of this, and in particular about how what we see on the shelf today may well be a lot different in just a few months. Or weeks.

I recall when chenin blanc was all the rage in the United States. Today, you almost can’t give the stuff away. I remember when wineries were so desperate for zinfandel grapes to make white zinfandel that some resorted to fraud and risked jail time to make the wine.

Today’s trends are shifting. One day, you read that there’s a vast surplus of a wine and that prices are soft. The next thing you hear, there’s a shortage of the same wine, and prices for it are rising.

Here are just a few of the trends for the end of 2007 that have been wafting through the industry but which may not be applicable in just a few weeks or months.

Australian wines: A little over a year ago, there was a surplus of most Aussie wines, so much so that Aussie wineries said they weren’t sure they could sell it all. Then came the 2007 harvest, and a multiyear drought Down Under finally caught up with the industry.

The volume of wine made was 40 percent below prior years. With sales continuing to rise, the surplus of 2005-2006 has become a shortfall. Some wineries said prices would rise, partly because of the lesser amount of wine to sell but also in part because of the continued slide of the U.S. dollar against all world currencies.

French Wine: A surplus of wine remains a problem for the French, but the weakness of the dollar versus the euro has made all European wines more expensive here. Many French wine companies are trying to hold the line on pricing to maintain visibility in the U.S. market, but certain wines (such as collectibles) are now priced out of the reach of most consumers.

Riesling: The demand for this white wine is now so strong that many wineries are scrambling to contract for fruit to compete. In particular, a spate of excellent German vintages for riesling and the success of riesling from Washington, Michigan and New York have fueled creation of a new marketing organization.

Even in cabernet-happy Napa Valley, some see the excitement for riesling. Trefethen Vineyards said it would add 14 more acres of riesling over the next two years — on land that likely could also produce top-rate cabernet sauvignon.

The riesling trend was verified in late November, when many wineries from around the world jointly formed the International Riesling Foundation to promote the grape and its wines.

Rosé: Yes, this pink wine that once was dismissed as sweet, insipid plonk has gained a staunch if silent following. The trend is mainly with dry and off-dry rosé wines and primarily at tasting rooms or through wine clubs.

The trend toward stylish pink wine that works with food hasn’t yet showed up on national statistical charts, which are generated mainly by large grocery chain-store sales. (Scanners typically collect data, and most smaller wine shops do not yet have scanner equipment.)

But anecdotal evidence is that wineries with tasting rooms or good wine club programs seem to be selling dry rosé wines at a clip that even shocks some wine makers.

Pinot noir: Demand for this lighter-weight red wine has been growing significantly in the last four years, mainly because of the next trend (see below) but also because of the passion of the lead character in the movie “Sideways,” who loved this grape of Burgundy. Demand for quality pinot noir leaped before the movie hit, and the film simply gave the movement an added push.

Alternatives: The ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) crowd began to seek alternatives to chardonnay a decade ago, but now the seekers want alternatives to many other boring wines. As such, we are seeing more interest by wine makers in viognier, marsanne, albarino and tempranillo.

Wine of the Week: 2006 Tangent viognier, Edna Valley ($17) — This wine from California’s central coast uses an aromatic southern French grape (pronounced vee-own-yay). This version is sprightly and fresh with a faint tropical fruit aroma and a dry finish. No oak aging, and a great example of an alternative to buttery chardonnays.

Dan Berger resides in Sonoma County and publishes a weekly newsletter on wine and can be reached at danberger@VintageExperiences.com.