Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

The Totally Un-Yuri Manga I’m Reading Right Now: Drops of God (神の雫)

January 31st, 2014

DSCN0456When, 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.

One Response

  1. Ellen says:

    A boutique wine store? Luck for you! I’m a beer aficionado, and have been in Hog Heaven for the last few years — a craft beer shop opened up nearby. I don’t touch the India Pale Ales (too hoppy) but the German and British beers are diverse and wonderful, the Belgian beers idiosyncratic, and while the ciders and perrys are not *exactly* beer, some are delightful. I don’t think they do mail order, but check out the diversity at http://thefourfirkins.com/.

Leave a Reply to Ellen