Grape Expectations Are you thinking about getting into the wine business? Here's a taste of what awaits you.

There's nothing like a great bottle of wine-especially if you made it yourself. Winemaking, in fact, is more than a business; it's a lifestyle, say experts. And it's not exactly a bad one to be in. There are riches for entrepreneurs in every facet of the business, from growing a vineyard to owning a winery to publishing wine education products, it's all part and parcel of the growing wine industry.

According to Vic Motto, senior partner with Motto Kryla & Fisher LLP, wine business advisors in St. Helena, California, "Wine is one of the strongest growth industries we have. It has outpaced the economy in growth--even during recessions. It's a business that will be a growth industry for the foreseeable future."

It's also a highly fragmented industry with room for start-ups, say experts. But even with approximately 3,000 wineries in the United States alone, "newcomers can certainly make this industry diverse," says Gladys Horiuchi, communications manager with the Wine Institute, a California wine industry organization in San Francisco. "They bring a lot of new things to the industry-[but] you need to know what your niche will be."