Fever pitch: pull out your thermometers, 'cause things are heating up! Here's our annual roundup of the newest trends, hottest markets and business ideas that promise to sizzle in 2005

Entrepreneur, Dec, 2004 by Karen Axelton, Steve Cooper, Amanda C. Kooser, April Y. Pennington, Karen E. Spaeder, Laura Tiffany, Nichole L. Torres, Sara Wilson, Natalia Olenicoff, Rebecca Villaneda, Jeri Yoshida

WINE BUSINESSES

It's the nectar of the gods--and the nectar of Americans, too, apparently. The number of Americans who drank wine at least once a week increased from 19.2 million in 2000 to 25.4 million in 2003, according to the Wine Market Council. And it seems that American consumers have also developed a serious affection for all things wine-related.

While starting a winery is one way to get into the wine business, you'll wait at least seven years before producing your first bottle. Creating a business peripheral to wineries could provide a quicker path to success. From wine educators and wine game inventors to wine accessory manufacturers and builders who design wine cellars, entrepreneurs are entering this market from all sides.

With a background in the restaurant industry, focusing on wine, Kyl Cabbage got into the peripheral side of the wine business by opening The Wine Experience in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1995. Cabbage wanted to create an environment that would draw everyone from knowledgeable wine enthusiasts to newbies. "We had to dispel the thought that wine is only for the rich," says Cabbage, 44. The Wine Experience provides a forum for wine tasting and wine education, while offering a selection of over 2,800 labels for sale--the company even coordinates wine-tasting trips to Napa Valley. With two locations in the Des Moines area, The Wine Experience is slated to gross $3 million this year.

Targeting baby boomers is a no-brainer in this industry, but wine consumption is also growing steadily among Millennials in their early 20s, says Vic Motto, chairman and CEO of Global Wine Partners, a global wine investment bank in St. Helena, California. He also notes that the market is starting to shift: An overabundance of grapes in the past few years had lowered the price of wine, but a smaller harvest in coming years will raise wine prices a bit in this cyclical industry. "It's a highly competitive industry," says Motto, but he notes there is still room for people to carve out a market niche.--N.L.T.

STAFFING SERVICES

While the economy continues on its twisting path, one business is booming. Demand for temporary and permanent staffing services has risen as we continue to head out of the post-dotcom-boom recession. Barry Cohen, co-founder and chief planning and development officer of The Response Companies, a staffing business, has seen the tide shift over the 15 years he's been in business. "Our hottest areas right now are our temp staffing business, our financial services group, our marketing group--and our newest startup area is legal," he says of the New York City-based business with $45 million in estimated sales for 2004.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act--which forces companies to comply with strict accounting procedures--has been a major contributor to this industry's growth. Companies, particularly in financial and health-care fields, are turning to businesses like Cohen's to provide the personnel to help them comply. "There's a real increase in the need for qualified senior accounting and auditing professionals," says Glenn Walsh, vice president of interim staffing with The Response Companies. That demand is starting to cross into all business fields as the effects of Sarbanes-Oxley spread out.