In this for the longrun

As I sit here absolutely loving the 2010 Yering Station Shiraz Viognier thoughts stray from what we do very very well to what we probably shouldn't bother with. I can think of lots of things but rice, cotton and quinoa will do as a starting point!

 Firstly - I am enjoying this historic vineyard wine with a perfectly cooked leg of lamb with veg roasted in lamb juice and a gravy made with some of that and some of the same wine....soft succulent meat with accompaniments that taste of lamb without the fatiness of years gone by (I have a long memory)

 The wine is soft yet powerful -  a tribute to the lower alcohol level. This is a grandstand  I will return to often!! Alcohol is only a component of a good wine - not the driver! This Shiraz has much of the pepper of of a fine Cote Rotie with the refinement of a touch of Viognier. Serious stuff. VinoMofo included the bottle in a recent mixed case.

Back to rice, cotton and quinoa - rice is better and uses less of Australia's water if it comes from Thailand, cotton uses less of Australia's water if it comes from China, quinoa is best if it is left for those who depend on it (in South American Andes) . We are now being told the people who have this food as a staple can no longer compete for it - what are we thinking!!!

We often tell ourselves to look outside the square - lets get really clever and look more closely inside the square. And see what's there.

Beautiful roast lamb, old vine wine and local produce might be a good start ..