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

Bar Sprezzatura

Grant Wood, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas review the wine list at Sprezzatura, a laid-back Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown San Francisco. 

Wine List Review of Sprezzatura, San Francisco

Grant Wood

Sprezzatura

Sprezzatura 

RT: Hello and welcome to CorkRules!&nbsp;

A podcast where, in each episode,&nbsp;we will 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,&nbsp;it&rsquo;s great to be back together for another episode.

GW: Hi 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 when we get that list handed to us, well&hellip; It can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, or 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.

Bar Sprezzatura

New to SF&rsquo;s One Maritime Plaza is the California version of a Venetian bacaro, a traditional bar that serves wine and small plates called cicchetti. They have savory bar snacks like cheese, caviar along with larger plates like beet-filled casunziei and sepe al nero starring light-as-air whipped Biancoperla polenta. Yum! They have a great wine list as well so let&rsquo;s dive in and see what we find.

As always, I love to start with a cocktail so right off the bat I love Mr. Vespa featuring Mezcal, Gin, Gentian, Lemoncello, and thyme olive oil but another fun one is the Ciao, Bella! Which has Ruby red grapefruit &amp; pink peppercorn sorbet, Gentian Amaro, and prosecco which a pretty perfect if you ask me. You can order spritz galore as well!

Moving on to the wines now I always like mentioning bubbles first and there is some fun ones here. I&rsquo;d go for the sparkling rose by Apres Sol made from Longanesi in Ravenna which is really clean, light and fun and fits the vibe of the restaurant well. If you want something a bit more classic then there&rsquo;s always Ca&rsquo;del Bosco Franciacorta from Lombardy which is made is the same method as Champagne. I love Italian bubbles, though, so you don&rsquo;t convince me with a struggle.

For whites and rose I would go for the Cataratto by Caruso &amp; Minini in Sicilia which is breezy, light and fresh making it perfect for dreaming of the Italian sun but a fun rose is the Rosato de Narello Mascalese by Graci on Mt. Etna, also is Sicilia which is a sign that I&rsquo;ve been watching too much of the White Lotus at home!

Moving over to reds, I like the Dolcetto by Elio Grasso. Dolcetto means &lsquo;the little sweet one&rsquo; which is really soft, red-fruited, fresh, easy to drink, and great with food. Just because it&rsquo;s called the little sweet one does not mean that the wine is sweet, however, it is dry and ready to be an extension of the table. Going back to Sicilia, I&rsquo;d go for the Frappatto by Valle Dell&rsquo;acate which is a wonderful, light-bodied, easy-drinking wine to get down with but for you Robert, I&rsquo;d order the Allegrini Amarone Classico from the Venito which is going to be stronger but still have beautiful ripe red and black fruit and will stand up to bigger meals. Another bigger option is the Aglianico by Cantina Del Taburno out of Campania. Ahlianico is the &lsquo;Barolo&rsquo; of the south with lighter color wines but big tannins and acid that ages well and stands up to fattier dishes.

Lastly, since we&rsquo;re at this little Italian getaway here in the Bay Area, I love to finish a meal like this with some Amaro and in this case, they have one of my favorites, Amaro Nonino.

Bellissimo!

RT: Grant Thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate Bar Sprezzatura&rsquo;s wine list. I can&rsquo;t wait to go try them myself.&nbsp;

To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like Grant 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.

&nbsp;

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please check out our website all our episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists and of course please download the CorkRules app to help you navigate all your favorite restaurants.

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

&nbsp;

Thank you.

&nbsp;

Meson

Dear Annie

Rossoblu

Lago

Le Farfalle

Petit Trois

The Red Dory

Audrey

Cowboy Star

Refined, New England-accented American seafood in an elegant setting with Connecticut River 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.

Fresh Salt

Stella Rosa

Il Conte, Moscato d'Asti NV

Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy

Beringer

White Zinfandel NV

California, USA

Freixenet

Cava Carta Nevada Brut NV

Cava, Spain

Cavazza Pinot Grigio Veneto IGT 2019

Italy

Bogle

Old Vine Zinfandel NV

California, USA

Bruni

Poggio d'Elsa NV

Maremma Toscana, Italy

Steep Ridge

Cabernet Sauvignon NV

California, USA

Merf

Chardonnay NV

Columbia Valley, USA

Robert Mondavi Private Selection

Riesling NV

California, USA

La Gioiosa

Prosecco Rose Millesimato NV

Prosecco, Italy

Bruni

Plinio Vermentino NV

Maremma Toscana, Italy

Statti, Mantonico, IGT NV

Calabria, Italy

Bodega Sommos

Xiloca Garnacha NV

Calatayud, Spain

Mud House

Sauvignon Blanc NV

Marlborough, New Zealand

Segura Viudas

Cava Brut Rosado NV

Cava, Spain