eat + drink

In more ways than one, this was the opening decade of a new century.

Our store shelves and restaurant lists opened up mightily to new possibilities; show of hands, who was drinking New Zealand sauvignon blanc, Argentine malbec or Spanish Cava at the turn of the millennium? Our channels for learning about and buying wine have grown exponentially, thanks to blogs, webcasts, semi-reasonable shipping laws and, let us not forget, a whole lot more savvy, consumer-friendly retailers at our local brick-and-mortar outlets.

But most of all, our minds opened. Items that were anathema a decade ago -- pink wines, screwcaps, un-buttery chardonnay -- have found great favor. No more do wine consumers look askance at such terms as "organic," "terroir" or "South Africa." Here are 10 major wine trends, for better and/or worse, from the Aughts:

Electronica: Gary Vaynerchuk's 800-plus wine videos (tv.winevideo.com), blogs such as Dr. Vino and sundry price-comparison sites such as wine-searcher.com have provided great fodder for all consumers. Meanwhile, chatrooms such as eRobertParker.com and the invaluable CellarTracker.com are gifts that keep on giving for collectors.

Rosé-colored glasses: White zin remains popular, but the more serious stuff -- from Spain, California and especially its homeland of Provence -- has burst onto the scene and moved out of Rodney Dangerfield-land.

Critter labels: It's hard to believe that Yellow Tail, now the world's largest-selling brand, debuted eight years ago. Alas for the Aussies, most wines bearing cute animals have become lambs led to slaughter.

Go south, young man: Speaking of Down Under, New Zealand wine production has almost quadrupled in this decade. Malbec has been the "It" wine for several years running, South Africa has started exporting some choice stuff, and Chile is producing great juice at all levels. Only Spain has surpassed these Southern Hemisphere nations in its enhanced quality and quantity at all price points.

Driving "Sideways": Along with Aussie wines, merlot has been the decade's biggest loser, more because it got overplanted and commodified rather than anything Paul Giamatti's schlub-ish character uttered in a movie. Meanwhile, pinot noir continues to grow -- and get overplanted itself.

Sparkle and shine: Affordable bubblies, especially Cava (Spain) and Prosecco (Italy), have changed the way we consume sparkling wine.

A new twist: Prompted in part by the marvelously named New Zealand Screwcap Initiative, but mostly by cork taint that led quaffers to think they were simply drinking crummy wine, producers started embracing the screwcap. Slowly but steadily, consumers have come on board.

Location, location, location: An improved -- or is it renewed? -- appreciation for a vineyard's terroir is a more recent phenomenon. Especially the soil, where organic and biodynamic practices are blessedly ascending.

Out of reach: As Homer Simpson would say, "stupid rich people!" As the economy bubbled up, those who are "not like the rest of us" drove prices of the world's top wines to insane levels, well into four figures. It wasn't much more than a decade ago that Hennepin Lake's Phil Colich would be sharing small pours of La Tache with customers at his public tastings. Sigh.

Hold the butter: For years, California chardonnay producers talked about reducing the "furniture slathered in butter" profile of their wines. In recent years, they actually have been doing just that, and letting the fruit shine. That's a win-win: The more different styles of wine available to consumers, the better.

Region of the decade: Spain.

Person of the decade: Gary Vaynerchuk.

Bill Ward • bill.ward@startribune.com

For everything from bling-eriffic Champagne to sorting through the cheap stuff, check out Ward on Wine at startribune.com/blogs/wine.