Drops&nbsp;of&nbsp;God, the popular manga series by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto, has been adapted into a television series by AppleTV and has some buzz in the wine world. The AppleTV series tells a story about a competition between Camille&#39;s (Fleur Geffrier) estranged daughter and Issei (Tomohisa Yamashita), the prot&eacute;g&eacute; after the death&nbsp;of&nbsp;Camille&#39;s father, a famous wine collector, to win his world-renowned wine collection valued at $100M+.

The show has been compared to the 2004 movie Sideways, which follows the journey&nbsp;of&nbsp;two friends as they travel through California&#39;s wine country. Both&nbsp;Drops&nbsp;of&nbsp;God&nbsp;and Sideways share a common theme&nbsp;of&nbsp;discovering wine&#39;s joys and the culture surrounding it. The film had an immediate impact on both tourism and sales by introducing people unfamiliar with wines.

However,&nbsp;Drops&nbsp;of&nbsp;God&nbsp;takes it to a new level with its intricate and detaileddescriptions&nbsp;of&nbsp;wines, vineyards, and the people behind them. The series has created a buzz in the wine world, with viewers becoming curious about the winesmentioned in the show and eager to try them themselves.

The cultural impact&nbsp;of&nbsp;Drops&nbsp;of&nbsp;God&nbsp;has been immense in Japan, with the manga series selling over 30 million copies and the television series was a huge hit. The show has inspired a generation&nbsp;of&nbsp;young people to explore the world&nbsp;of&nbsp;wine and has even led to an increase in tourism to wine regions.

This is a golden opportunity, but yet it&#39;s surprising the wine world has not leaned into&nbsp;Drops&nbsp;of&nbsp;God&nbsp;more, missing a chance to bring people&nbsp;of&nbsp;all ages into the wine world. With the decline in wine sales, it&#39;s clear that the industry needs to reimagine how it markets its products and brings new consumers into its ecosystem.

This emphasis on education is something that many experts argue could be key for helping bring new consumers into the wine world who have until now been unaware or intimidated by all there is out there; young people can significantly benefit from having access to this kind&nbsp;of&nbsp;information without needing expensive classes or sommelier certifications first.

Drops&nbsp;of&nbsp;God&nbsp;comes at a unique point in time for the wine world and&nbsp;offers a significant opportunity to educate and bring people&nbsp;of&nbsp;all ages into the wine world. The cultural impact&nbsp;of&nbsp;the series in Japan and the potential impact it could have in the US and around the world cannot be ignored.&nbsp;Time is ticking, and the wine world cannot afford to miss this opportunity.

&nbsp;

Drops of God, the popular manga series by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto, has been adapted into a television series by AppleTV and has some buzz in the wine world. The AppleTV series tells a story about a competition between Camille's (Fleur Geffrier) estranged daughter and Issei (Tomohisa Yamashita), the protégé after the death of Camille's father, a famous wine collector, to win his world-renowned wine collection valued at $100M+.

Drops of God: The AppleTV Series That Could Save the Wine Industry

1803 is a Cajun restaurant that brings a little of New Orleans’ eclectic culture to the streets of New York. It’s a sexy, sultry space with a penchant for Deep South decadence and jazz. For a memorable culinary experience, this is the place to bring a date.

Pairing Wine with Cajun Food at 1803

Certified sommelier and CorkRules’ resident Somm, Michaela Quinlan shares her expertise on the wine list of il Buco. il Buco’s wine cellar holds a selection of over 400 wines and includes an exciting range of lesser-known, artisan wines from Europe. This restaurant has been called "one of the best and most exciting in America" by Gourmet magazine and the wine list has won Wine Spectator’s "Award of Excellence" several times.

Artisan Wines at Il Buco

Orange wine is made from white grapes, but the skin stays in contact with the juice longer during the maceration period, which increases the tannins and turns the normally white wine a more golden hue. The longer the contact,  the darker the hue, which increases the tannins and a stronger intensity. Pinot gris and malvasia are two common grape varieties used to make orange wine, but if you dig a little deeper, explore a little further, you can find some delightful orange wines along the border between northeastern Italy and Slovenia where orange wines are madefrom indigenous grapes on the region, including sauvignon vert (friulano), ribolla gialla, and pinot grigio.

Pairing Orange Wines at Pasquale Jones

The Lobster Club in the Seagram Building, New York City is a Japanese Brasserie that is renowned for its unique interpretation of Japanese cooking and Sushi, and what’s even more exciting is that it has an extensive wine list.

Fine Wines at The Lobster Club

Unless you are born into a vineyard, grow up in wine country, a career in wine is not a go-to profession for most graduates. But for some people, their love of wine and career path are intertwined. This is how it was for Jane Lopes, sommelier, co-founder of Legend Imports, and author of Vignette: Stories of Life and Wine in 100 Bottles.

Stories of Wine & Life with Jane Lopes, Sommelier, Author and Co-Founder of Legend Imports

CorkRules has been presented with the BMMA ‘Best New Mobile App” Platinum award, the highest award achievement in category.

CorkRules Wins the 2023 BMMA Platinum Award for "Best New Mobile App"

Pairing wine with Asian food is a common dilemma. Just what should you order with the Spicy Yellowtail Yu Sheng or the Mongolian Lamb Chops? How do we make palatable choices that cross cultures and bring out the best in each location’s use of herbs and spices?

Pairing Wine with Asian Food at Buddakan

With the exception of sommeliers and vintners, for most of us who love wine, no matter how many bottles you drink in your lifetime, and no matter how delicious, you rarely think of the terroir, the grape, or the growing process as you drink it.

Chris Phelps on Wine and Life

Grant Wood

Lazy Bear

Lazy Bear

RT: Hello and welcome to CorkRules!&nbsp;

A podcast where we review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Grant Wood, wine educator and certified sommelier.

Hello Grant, great to have you back for another great wine list.

GW: Hello Robert!

RT: Before we jump in, let&rsquo;s talk about CorkRules.

We created CorkRules to demystify wine lists because we know from experience, that sometimes wine lists can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

RT:&nbsp;So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list.

Lazy Bear is a modern American Dining experience located in the mission. They&rsquo;re best known for a communal dining experience, though, these days are separating individual parties but still crafting a unique dine out.

Let me start by saying just how compelling and deep this wine list goes. Led by Master Sommelier Andrey Ivanov with an impressive team of a team of gifted Somms, their passion world view of wine is quite moving.&nbsp; With over 1,700 selections and 135 pages to sift through, you are in for a journey of taste and place. They also have an impressive depth of vintages to choose from which of course is great for celebrating birth years, anniversaries, etc. so don&rsquo;t be afraid to ask your sommelier for particular years.

Let&rsquo;s dive in, however, because this is quite the list to go over!

Let&rsquo;s start with Champagne of course. I like that they split it up from grower Champagne and then move into the big house producers. Right away, the Pierre Peters &lsquo;Reserve Oubli&eacute;e Extra Brut Grand Cru from the village of Bouzy is a favorite of mine but of course, you can&rsquo;t go wrong with any of the Egly-Ouriet on their list as well.

Moving to big house bubs, I think the Cuv&eacute;e 738 by Jacquesson is a great bottle to consider but also the 2008 Billecart-Salmon &lsquo;Cuv&eacute;e Louis&rsquo; is a banger at a fair price as well. There&rsquo;s other great big names to look for as well so don&rsquo;t hold back by any means.

As for aromatic whites on their list, I would go for the 2005 Alzinger Loibenberg Smaragd from the Wachau which has some good age on it, and these are really amazing examples of Riesling from the best sites on the region. Fun fact: wines that say Smaragd tell you that the wine is at least 12.5% abv Smaragd literally means &ldquo;emerald&rdquo; named for the little green lizards that can be found sunning on the stone terraces along the Danube River.

Another favorite of mine on their list is the 2021 Zarate Albari&ntilde;o from Spain&rsquo;s Rias Baixas which always has a fresh ocean breeze aromatic with stone fruit and a natural freshness on the palate and a great value wine to seek out.

There is a great white Burgundy section as well so if you&rsquo;re looking for big names like Roulot, Duvissat, Raveneau, of Coche-Dury then you&rsquo;re covered. But if you want great white Burgundy on a budget then I love the 19&rsquo; Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru which is fantastic.

If you want chardonnay from California, I&rsquo;d go for the 2018 Racines from the Santa Rita Hills which is a much leaner, mineral-driven California Chard that&rsquo;s much more restrained which I love but a solid choice here is the 2016 Hirsch which is an amazing vineyard in Fort Ross Seaview.

Moving on to reds, let&#39;s get into it because there is a lot of ground to cover. There is of course a great Burgundy selection but let my shift focus to some stunning Pinot Noir from beyond that excites me. I like the 2015 Ceritas &lsquo;Costalina&rsquo; from the Sonoma Coast or the 2017 Whitcraft from Santa Barbara as far as Cali goes.

I really like the 2019 By Farr &lsquo;Sangreal&rsquo; from Geelong in Australia which is an amazing wine if you want to go down under.

Moving on to bigger reds, a great splurge, at least for me, would be the 92&rsquo; Domaine Jamet which happens to be my birth year and Jamet is an icon for Syrah in Cote Rotie and is worth the splurge.

They also happen to have a 1992&nbsp;Truchard Syrah from Carneros which is a great value from a winery literally a mile away from my house and is a classic and underrated producer in Carneros.

One other Syrah that I have to mention is the 2015 Mullineux &lsquo;granite&rsquo; Paardeberg from South Africa&rsquo;s Swartland. 

There is a great Italian selection as well but this being a great California establishment, they&rsquo;ve curated a great selection of Zinfandel which is a variety to hits home for me so let&#39;s take a moment to point out some great gems on this list.

I would definitely check out the 1996 Ravenswood Old Hill Ranch from Sonoma Valley. Old hill is one of Joel Peterson&rsquo;s favorite vineyards in Sonoma owned by Will Bucklin who&rsquo;s an amazing farmer and I&rsquo;ve been lucky to try some of Joel&rsquo;s Old Hill Ranch wines from the 90&rsquo;s that really stand up with age.

Also, they have a 1969 Lodi Zin from Ridge which would be a real treat to try something with that much age from a side bar region in California.

Also, the 83&rsquo; Ridge Lime Kiln Valley from the central coast would be very interesting to try. Lime Kiln AVA is a fascinating region with a lot of limestone and old, somewhat forgotten area with very interesting varieties like Cab Pfeffer. But the list goes on.

They have all the classics from Bordeaux as well but I&rsquo;m going to stay on the theme of classic California that excites me starting with the 07&rsquo; Cain Five from Spring Mountain which of course was a great year but Cain Five is an amazing wine from Spring Mountain.

I also love the 2011 Cardinale which was not regarded as a great year in Napa since it was unusually cool and wet, but these wines are ageing beautify. I had the Cardinale 11&rsquo; just last year and it was stellar. Cardinale was my first winery job when I turned 21 and their wines are exemplary of my start in the wine business.

Also, the 2000 Corison Napa Valley cab in Magnum would be a great splurge as well. Finally, the 82&rsquo; Dunn Vineyards is a revelation and always stands the test of time.

The list goes on and I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;ve gone a little overtime here, but I think this list is worth going a bit extra.

Final thoughts, this is an incredibly well thought-out list that really invites you to explore vintage depth and your inner curiosity. I can&rsquo;t wait to go back to Lazy Bear and I hope you get to go soon and explore.

Cheers!

Grant, Thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate Lazy Bear&rsquo;s wine list. I can&rsquo;t wait to go try your great suggestions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

To our audience, thank you all for Joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: <a href="mailto:Info@CorkRules.com">Info@CorkRules.com</a> or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists.&nbsp;

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

Thank you.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Meson

Dear Annie

Rossoblu

Lago

Le Farfalle

Petit Trois

The Red Dory

Audrey

Cowboy Star

Modern tavern with locally-sourced American grub, plus an indoor fireplace & patio with water views.

Vanderpump a Paris

Lamaii

Jaleo

Jaleo by Jose Andres

North Italia - Las Vegas

North Italia

Carmine's - Las Vegas

Carmine's

Herb & Wood

Bavette‚Äôs Steakhouse & Bar ‚Äì Las Vegas

Bavettes

Spago Las Vegas by Wolfgang Puck

Spago

Carbone

learn

Join us each week as we pour a glass and share top restaurant ‘wine list’ picks, providing you with the knowledge to confidently navigate the ‘wine list’ through somm recommendations, suggested food pairings and masterclass insights.

Freighters Eatery & Taproom

Coastal Ridge Winery

Cabernet Sauvignon NV

California, USA

Noble Vines

Pinot Grigio, USA, California, Central Coast NV

Central Coast, California, USA

Coastal Vines Cellars

Pinot Grigio NV

Central Coast, USA

Coastal Vines Cellars

Chardonnay NV

California, USA

Cellars

Coastal Vines, Cabernet Sauvignon, California NV

California, USA

Montevina Terra d'Oro Moscato, Amador County NV

Amador County, USA

Doña Paula

Estate Malbec NV

Tupungato, Argentina

Terra d'Oro

Moscato NV

California, USA

Doña Paula

Paula Malbec NV

Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina

Black Star Farms Riesling Arcturos Semi-Dry, USA, Michigan NV

USA

M. Lawrence

Detroit Demi-Sec NV

USA

Charles & Charles

Cabernet Sauvignon - Syrah NV

Washington, USA

Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay, Santa Lucia NV

Santa Lucia Highlands, USA

Villa Maria

Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc NV

Marlborough, New Zealand

Joel Gott

Cabernet Sauvignon, California 1981

California, USA