Globe-trotting wine mystery Drops of God inspires thirst and wanderlust | Canada Voices

The wine-centric family saga Drops of God is back for a second season, centered on the quest to uncover the origins of a mysterious bottle presented as the world’s greatest wine. While the premise raises concerns, my inner wine geek welcomes the globe-trotting pursuit through vineyards and villages in France, Greece and the Republic of Georgia, believed to be the oldest wine-producing area in the world.

In the first season, now streaming on Apple TV, we’re introduced to Camille and Issei, half-siblings forced to compete for their father’s inheritance, a stylish modernist Tokyo apartment that contains the greatest (there’s that hyperbolic word again) private wine collection in the world. Their father, Alexandre Léger, was a Robert Parker-like wine critic responsible for the Léger Wine Guide, who assembled his 87,000-bottle collection over the course of 40 years.

Adapted from the cult manga series by Tadashi Agi, the initial eight episodes see the duo square off in three challenges, starting with identifying a red wine by its taste.

When it comes to wine, there are jarring mistakes in the first season that risk spoiling the fun. Two of the world’s most famous wines, Vega Sicilia Unico from Spain and Château Cheval Blanc from France, are mistakenly believed to be made with the same grape variety. (Unico is made with tempranillo and cabernet sauvignon in Ribera del Duero, while Cheval Blanc is a blend of cabernet franc and merlot from Saint-Emilion.)

In another episode, an obscure black grape variety is prized for its ability to produce both red and white wines. Never mind that the juice of most black grapes is colourless unless it’s left in contact with the skins during winemaking. By comparison, the small number of so-called teinturier grape varieties, such as alicante bouschet, baco noir and saperavi, that have coloured juice and flesh are rare.

But the stylish cinematography and fast-paced family drama soothe over any inconsistencies and over-arching poetic license that turns the sensory evaluation of a wine into a magical power. There’s plenty of crossover appeal at work, which helps explain the series’ best drama win at the 2024 International Emmy Awards.

New Canadian film captures the growing pains of winemaking in Niagara

Drops of God captures the allure and traditions of wine more accurately than it misses. It depicts wine expertise as a contemplative mastery of core skills and beautifully captures the picture-perfect settings around the world where fine wine is made and enjoyed.

Savvy viewers might recognize the Perrin family’s immaculate Château de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape as the location for the fictional Domaine Chassangre or cameos of bottles of Château d’Yquem, Domaine Marquis d’Angerville burgundy or Pol Roger champagne.

The second series revolves around an enigmatic bottle of wine from Alexandre Léger’s cellar that sends Camille and Issei in search of who and where it was made. The continuing saga is likely to increase the audience’ wine appreciation and influence wine travel to featured sites.

Drops of God’s second season will premiere Jan. 21, followed by one episode weekly until March 11, 2026, streaming on Apple TV.