Drops of God, Vol. 13

神の雫 #13

by Tadashi Agi, Shū Okimoto (Artist)

Taiyo Beer's wine department has been asked to compose a wine list to pair with Korean cuisine -- and Shizuku Kanzaki, believing in wine's potential, has traveled to Korea solo to search. The trail is cold at first, but after a very unexpected hint from his rival Issei Tomine, he soon finds a possible answer. But is there really a red wine out there that can hold up against the intense spice of Korean food?!

Genres: Manga, Comics, Wine, Graphic Novels

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2007

About the author

Tadashi Agi, 亜樹直, is the penname of Yuko and Shin Kibayashi, a sister and brother team of Japanese manga storywriters. Shin Kibayashi also uses the pseudonyms Seimaru Amagi and Yuya Aoki.

Reviews

[Sanford Chee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chpt 119-128 Kimchi & wine pairing; hunt for 4th Apostle
Continued fr Vol. 12
#117 The battle tt lost its name & #118 aromatic synchronicity
Loulan & Shizuku had to sort out bttls just fr the faint smells of their corks.
1995 Meo Camuzet Clos de Vougeot GC Burg: black soil, dark haired diva on stage
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/meo-camu...
1995 Meo Camuzet Echezeaux GC Burg: noble woman bearing strawberries, Claude Monet - the painter of light. Woman w/ a parasol
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/meo-camu...
2001 Lynch Bach (5th growth but as good as 2nd growth, baby Mouton) Bdx: Brunette in spring, dark roast coffee w/ cream, mint notes of Cab Sauv
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/chateau-...
2001 2nd lable Bdx: fleeting but soft & easier to approach
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/chateau-...

#120 major help fr a friend's hand
Marriage of wine & kimchi; meaning of marriage - tt mix of sensations
Spritzer cocktail & tom yum goong

#121 beyond the rising bubbles
Perfect marriage of Foie Gras paired w/ Sauternes
Champagne, Cremant, Petillant
Soft bubbles fr secondary fermentation
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/monmouss...

#122 essential champagne
Blanc de Noirs = champagne made fr Pinot Noir Grapes. Too much of one thing & too tale of another when paired w/ Kimchi. Not perfect marriage.
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/rene-jol...
100% Pinot Meunier
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/egly-our...
Blanc de blanc refreshing w/ lingering acidity & deep umami + stong, flash minerality tt won't clash w/ spiciness of kimchi =>what marriage is supposed to mean

$123 flames burning like magic
Kimchi pairing w/ blanc de blanc champage is a good match but you have meat af that & there's no red wines on the table then it's not considered a perfect marriage. Champagne is underwhelming for meat & there's something missing.
https://www.wineenthusiast.com/basics...
Shizuku picked NV Marc Hébrart Blanc de Blancs to convince Kim Gye-Hyun tt kimchi can be paired w/ wine. Feels like a magic show: in an instant the kimchi burning in your mouth like a magician's casting a ring of flame, was enveloped by those silky beautiful bubbles. The same sensation, but in a wholly different style.
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/marc-heb...

#124 w/ the matador of joy
Yuna, Gye-Hyun's estranged sister who left Korea for France to study wine, returned w/ a bttl of
2001 Librandi Gravello Rosso, a Gaglioppo/Cab Sauv blend made in Calabria . It was the perfect red for Kimchi.
https://www.guildsomm.com/research/ex...
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/librandi...

#125 butterflies flying in the spring of good tidings (de Vogue vs Roumier Les Amoureuses)
Back in Tokyo, Honma also picked Gaglioppo as the perfect red for Kimchi, a value wine fr Librandi tt could pair w/ casual cuisine, japchae, Buchimgae.
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/librandi...
Celebratory wine for sealing the contract b/w Taiyo Wine Division & Cheonsin-dong, a chain of Korean restaurants. Chief Kawarage opened this 1991 Les Amoureuses
https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/domaine-...

#126 like the one I 1st loved - hunt for 4th Apostle
1985 Krug Robert Doi & Yutaka Kanzaki 1st shared it in May 1985 over looking Azelias in full bloom at the balcony terrace of Hotel de Yama, Hakone
Wine & poetry "First Love" by Toson Shimazaki
https://allpoetry.com/poem/8536511-Fi...

#127 in pursuit of familiar faces
Clos du Mesnil fr Mesnil sur Ogil GC plot = ultimate blanc de blanc
Check out this great Wine from Krug. I just scanned it with the Vivino app. https://www.vivino.com/wines/120285?u...
Why Yokohama? Mr Makabe, a musician & one of Japan's leading wine collectors, wants to organise wine & music event onboard a luxury cruiser

#128 a furtive hand on an enigmatic head
Les Amoureuses is Makabe's fave wine region. It's the last wine he shared w/ his late wife & he drinks it every yr on the anniversary of her death to treasure their memories together.
Check out this great Wine from Serveau & Fils. I just scanned it with the Vivino app. https://www.vivino.com/wines/10720307...

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

After secretly helping save Tomine's wine tasting by successfully identifying unlabeled bottles, Shinzuko returns to his real purpose in Korea--finding wine pairings for Korean food. After Tomine suggests that Shinzuko examines the real meaning of the word mariage, Shinzuko discovers a champagne that works perfectly with kimchi.

After another search for a red wine that works with Korean meat dishes, he returns to Japan having secured a contract to supply wine to the restaurant chain, in time to get the clues to the fourth Apostle.

Tomine and Shinzuko are off to hunt for a wine reminiscent of first love.

[Paul Aquino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and amusing distraction.

The analysis on some of these great wine producers can go over the top, but tasting such wines can stop you in your tracks. Agi and Okimoto certainly capture that feeling in the story.

[Tasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m guessing we’re expanding publication into Korea?

[Johnathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another side quest to the main story but at least we now have the 4th apostle to look forward too.