When, a Few Years Ago (TM), Vertical Publishing announced that it was going to be publishing an English-language version of Kibayashi Yuko. Kibayashi Shin and Okamoto Shu’s industry-changing wine manga, Kami no Shizuku, I thought, “Nice, now I don’t have to read it in Japanese.” I wasn’t just being lazy. although yes, I was being a little lazy, but trying to learn about wine through manga sounded fun, but trying to figure out the French lingo through Japanese didn’t.

I only started drinking at all in my later 30s. I remember the day I began drinking wine vividly. It quickly became apparent that the two most popular wines – Merlot and Chardonnay – were not for me. Both had a flatness to the taste that put me off. For years I stuck with Cabernet Sauvignon; reasonably priced, fruity, it’s a good gateway wine. By the time I started reading Vertical’s Drops of God, I was mostly drinking Pinot Grigio. A year or two later, and a new boutique wine store opens up within walking distance of my house, so I’m trying a lot more kinds of wine from more locations…and suddenly,  Drops of God makes perfect sense to me.

The other day, I swear to you this is true, I described a wine as “a luxurious, high-end apartment, with a pressboard door.”  ^_^; A friend described the Washington State Sauvignon Blanc I brought as “very French, almost Sancere” and I knew what he meant! We discussed the terroir, how the Columbia Valley is very mineral-y. It’s all very creepy. Thanks, Vertical. (-_-)

After Volume 5 of the English version, I switched to the Japanese. And there we were, having a discussion about old vines (V.V.) that I learned about because Shizuku needed to learn about it. It’s insidious, this wine stuff. When I tried a 2008 Haute-Medoc, I actually heard the angels sing. Heaven help me, I’m decanting. /sob/

Anyway, I know I’ve been slow on the reviews. I’m working my way through some non-fiction and comics that require actually thinking and/or are not Yuri. But I promise there’s good stuff on the way. Tonight I’m curling up with the first Volume of the new 20th anniversary edition of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン 完全版 1) and a bottle of The Chemist (Red Blend) by Smokescreen. Happy Weekend.