Tyler Colman, better known as Dr. Vino, kicked off the 8th Annual Petite Sirah Symposium today, delivering the keynote address. While the title of the address was "Can Petite Sirah Become the Next Pinot Noir," he quickly dismissed that topic and launched into a discussion of new media marketing, analysis of today's wine consumers and the changing face of wine criticism. With most of the audience being winery management, the unspoken message was that those seeking to advance Petite Sirah should realize that the grape isn't Pinot and won't achieve sudden widespread demand due to some Hollywood movie either. Rather, success of the varietal and the wineries will be based on the ability to leverage new media, creative marketing, and the growing ranks of  wine bloggers to reach the most important demographic in the U.S. wine market: Millennials. 91% of wine in America is consumed by "core" wine drinkers, those who drink wine at least once per month. And the growth in wine consumption is coming almost entirely from the under 30 crowd. In short, if you want to sell wine today, any type of wine, you'd better be able to market successfully to the millennial generation.

When was the last time you tried Petite Sirah? Who are your favorite Petite Sirah producers? What would lead you to drink more of it?

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