Comic Becomes Bible of Asia's Wine Culture

What do Freddie Mercury and a Jean-François Millet painting have in common? Both have been used to describe wine in The Drops of the Gods, a Japanese comic series that’s quickly becoming the go-to wine literature in Asia, reports the New York Times. Customers tend to ask for wines featured in the comic, leading wine sellers to snap up each issue.

The series, started 4 years ago by a brother-and-sister team who rent an entire apartment for their 3,000-bottle wine collection and pay for earthquake protection, features mostly French wines. The authors attempt to describe wine in a way the average drinker can understand, allowing their comic to become influential all over Asia, where wine has only become popular fairly recently. (More comics stories.)