The Drops of God - Manga Boosts French Wine.

Wines with “aromatic black currant undertones” sound nice, but a wine that’s described as the band Queen in a bottle? How could your interest not be piqued?

Thanks to this description of French winemaker Thibault Despagne’s 2001 Chateau Mont-Perat in the oenophile manga, “Kami no Shizuki” (“The Drops of God”), the company’s sales have rocketed in Asia.

The manga, written by a brother-sister duo under the pen name Tadashi Agi, features two wine connoisseurs as the main characters. It’s almost like a “wine textbook,” intertwining stories with creative wine descriptions. Perfect for the young, amateur wine drinker.

In 2004, Despagne collaborated with Japanese wine distributor Vintners Inc. to create an original Les Amants du Chateau Mont-Perat. As soon as 20,000 bottles of the wine hit the Japanese market, they sold out within a day.

Despagne told the Asahi Shimbun: "I'm amazed with the influence of that manga in Asia and in Japan, in particular. I've had some good articles from (Robert) Parker and other wine people, but the impact of the manga is huge."

Link Asahi Shimbun