Mr Grumpy: Comparative Tastings
OPINION: Comparative Tastings are an expensive but potentially effective strategy for a wine producer to raise the image of their wine or wines.
The oddly mismatched pair are subjected to a series of wine tastings – the winner of which gets to inherit the world’s largest wine cellar; 87,000 bottles with an estimated value of US$148 million. That’s roughly US$1,701 per bottle.
The cellar was the life’s work of Cecile’s father who wanted his wine to go to someone who would appreciate it, but surely she would die from loss of blood before she had polished off the first bottle of pre-phylloxera Chateau Haut Brion? The slightly built Issei might also do a bit of damage to his constitution if he tried to sample even a small portion of the precious bottles. Clearly Cecile’s father didn’t think the inheritance through.
However these are minor details. This complex, fast-moving series is about winning and losing, love and sex (discretely handled), crime and intrigue, and how people with an indecent amount of disposable income spend it. It lacks any humour, perhaps because wine and winemaking take themselves too seriously. The film is in three languages; French, English and Japanese; with English subtitles which give it an international edge. I enjoyed it. Drops of God scored 100% on Rotten Tomatoes’ average tomatometer. Drops of God is streaming now on Apple TV.
