A wine connoisseur friend asked me today whether I could find out for him what the term “run-rig” means. I Googled various times but failed to come up with a definition. Does anyone here know what it means?
It’s a type of farming used to be common in northwest Scotland. It’s a seminal Celtic folk-rock band whose lead singer quit the business to become a meenister in Scotland’s wee pretendy government and who played at my wee sister’s wedding.
And it’s the name of an Australian Shiraz from Torbreck in the Barossa Valley. Probably the last one is most relevant to your friend.
Runrig (the band) is cool. 
www.taylorandnorton.com/newsite/torbreck.htm
Torbreck RunRig Shiraz
Torbrecks flagship wine, RunRig is a structured, muscular wine with phenomenal density, dry vintage port-like concentration, and magnificent notes of smoke, blackberries, cassis, leather and coffee. Shiraz from old dry grown vineyards is blended with viognier, complementing the strengths and complexities of these individual parcels of fruit, while giving the resulting wine a further dimension. The hint of viognier’s sweet marmalade character comes through as the wine sits in the glass. A true ‘Vin de Garde’ to reward those with the patience to cellar it. RunRig cuvee spends 30 months in 60 percent new French Oak (with the remainder being seasoned). The 3 percent estate grown Viognier is fermented and aged for 6 months in barrel and then added to the blend just prior to bottling.
Reviews:
Constantly flirting with perfection… A blend of 97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier, this is Torbreck�s flagship offering. Sadly, there are only 1,500 cases produced. Sourced from old vines, some close to 140 years of age, it is fashioned from four sectors of Barossa � Marananga, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, and Greenock. It spends 30 months in 60% new French oak before being bottled without fining or filtration. The powerful, full-bodied 2001 exhibits aromas of creme de cassis, blackberry liqueur, ink, espresso, graphite, and apricot marmalade. The impression on the palate is one of marvelous richness, expansive texture, a multi-layered skyscraper soaring across the palate with no heaviness. It is a tour de force in winemaking, but give it 2-3 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 15-20+ years." The Wine Advocate.
[quote=“sandman”]It’s a type of farming used to be common in northwest Scotland. It’s a seminal Celtic folk-rock band whose lead singer quit the business to become a meenister in Scotland’s wee pretendy government and who played at my wee sister’s wedding.
And it’s the name of an Australian Shiraz from Torbreck in the Barossa Valley. Probably the last one is most relevant to your friend.[/quote]
Thanks! I found the first two via Google, but the wine-related results seemed to imply a broader meaning than just the name of one particular brand of wine, as if it were some kind of premium batch based on the best of a year’s harvest – I just couldn’t quite put my finger on a definition.