When a wine tyrant who possesses the largest wine cellar in the world dies inDrops of God, he does not go out quietly. Instead, he decides to haunt those he’s known from the grave and remain the angry man who ran an empire and terrified winemakers everywhere as he could make or break them by tasting a single drop of wine.The immensely underrated Apple TV+ seriesis one of the greatest series on the streamer, detailing the complexities of family and estrangements that don’t go away after death.For those who missSuccession, this series is for you.
The criminally underrated series is an intense family drama, as the estranged daughter of a world-famous oenologist, Alexander Léger (Stanley Weber), finds out she must pass a series of tests that include identifying rare and unknown wines in order to inherit the inheritance her cruel father has left behind. The only catch is that she must compete with her father’s protégé in the tests, and whoever comes out with the highest score gets everything.Drops of Godis based on the Manga series under the same nameand is a trilingual series spanning all over the world, spoken in French, Japanese, and English.Spellbinding from the jump and gripping in exploring the traumas we carry from fathers and mothers, wine runs thicker than blood in this fantastic Apple TV+ thriller.
Drops of God
A spirited journey through the world of wine begins when a wine critic’s estranged son is drawn into a contest against his talented sibling, whom his father adopted to inspire competition. Their father’s will dictates that they must decipher riddles associated with rare wines, leading them on a global adventure that tests their knowledge and determination.
What is ‘Drops of God’ About?
Drops of Godbegins with the death of the Frenchman, Alexandre Léger.Fleur Geffriergives a powerhouse performance as his estranged daughter, Camille Léger, witha subtle yet thunderous portrayal of a daughter battling love and hatred for a man who caused years of ongoing pain but also shaped her into the genius she’s become.At his will reading in Japan, she is joined by Léger’s star student, Issei Tomine,played by a captivatingTomohisa Yamashita, an incredible oenologist trained by Alexandre, who called him his spiritual son.
In Alexandre’s will, he reveals he’s concocted a three-part test for Camille and Issei to compete in to determine who inherits his estate andwine cellar. Also the author of the esteemed Léger guide, the wine reviews changed the entire industry and made Alexandre the most feared man where wine was concerned, making his estate worth millions.Due todark childhood traumasbrought on by her father, Camille had not seen or spoken to her father since a dangerous mishap that occurred when she was eight.What Alexandre didn’t count on was that Camille would grow up never drinking, let alone wine, due to what happened to her as a child. As the competition makes national and worldwide headlines, the series is just as exciting as anyRockymovie. An angry but motivated Camille trains to get back in wine-tasting shape at a vineyard in France where her father took her all those years ago and returns to the prodigy she was.
If you Like the Vicious Competition in ‘Succession,’ ‘Drops of God’ Carries a Similar Atmosphere
Drops of Godis vicious head to toe. Even when Camille inhales a glass of wine before a sip, she is ruthless in her calculative judgment of what the contents contain. The series will have you at the edge of your seat just to find out if a glass of red wine contains quince or jasmine. When the word Alexander Léger is spoken in any professional or personal setting, it inflicts just as much terror asLogan Roy did inSuccession. Stanley Weber is brooding, dark, and chilling as Alexandre in flashbacks, strictly training his daughter, and masters cruelty just asBrian Coxdid.As the Roy siblings compete for Logan’s love and affection while trying totake over his media empire,Drops of Godis similarly dramatic.The only difference is that the father is already dead in the Apple TV+ series, which makes it even more sick and heartbreaking that he’s forced his daughter to compete for his love still.
Camille finds refuge in the French vineyards she was trained in by her father at a young age, where she reunites with the family who owns it, including the man she had a crush on as a child, Thomas Chassangre (Tom Wozniczka). It’s like an athlete returning to the ring, and her prodigy-level skills return in an instant despite her never drinking wine in her life as Thomas helps her.Geffrier is fascinating as she reckons with her return of taste, which also means the return of her father to her life.While she works for everything, Issei has practically been training for this competition his whole adult life and is not phased by the cameras or press. Their unadulterated hatred for one another at every meeting is shameless fun, as they both aim to bring the other one down with their taste pallets.
Fleur Geffrier Gives a Haunting Performance Battling Childhood Trauma
Suffering from nose bleeds, panic attacks, and fainting spells whenever she even smells alcohol, Camille has a physical rejection of anything with taste. The series begins with a chilling opening flashback as her father leads her into the darkness of the Chassangre wine cellar in France. Blindfolded, her father had her do quick-fire rounds of naming pieces of fruit he would feed her, and she proved from a young age that she was very gifted, with an unusually strong sense of smell. Once Camille returns to those fateful vineyards in France, where everything changed decades ago, Philippe and Thomas Chassangre begin to condition her in the same way her father did.She’s one of the most engaging, complex television heroines as of late.
Geffrier is magnetizing as a former prodigyreturning to the place that shaped her but also ruined her.Though she keeps much of her emotion inside, her eyes speak volumes every time she is introduced to a new scent or taste, which both pains her but invigorates her at the same time.Watching Camille train is part of what makesDrops of Godfeel like a thriller anda sports filmall in one. It’s claustrophobic, intense, and scary. One memorable scene is at the Will reading, where she is blindly thrust into competition and forced to drink a glass of wine. It causes her to shatter the wine glass and get a massive nosebleed. When it’s revealed she is risking her health to compete, it exemplifies the control her father still has over her, even in death. He’s a hulking, haunting figure who’s a monster and a father to her all at once.
‘Drops of God’ Is a Cutthroat Series About The Wine and Restaurant Industry
There is a heightened interest in the restaurant and hospitality industry right now, thanks to the mega-popular seriesThe Bear.AndDrops of Godmakes that series look like childs-play at times. Camille meets many snakes in the restaurant world, and she becomes a target for many as she’s about to inherit an empire. As she begins to appreciate and truly love food and wine,the series takes us behind closed doorsto the trenches of wine cellars all over the world.The scenery is stunning, from the restaurants of Japan, to the countryside of France, all the way to forgotten winemakers in Italy.For any food connoisseuror wine fanatic, this series is a must-watch.
While Camille’s story is engaging and heartbreaking, Issei’s story is just as harrowing,many thanks to the scene-stealing Yamashita. Coming from a diamond dynasty in Japan, his ruthless mother hates that he is competing in the competition, and she and his grandfather attempt to stop Issei from competing in the one true thing he holds any passion for.As the series unravels Camille’s traumas, it also peels back the trauma Issei has suffered growing up in a cutthroat, unemotional family.Makiko WatanabeandSatoshi Nikaidoplay his parents, Honoko and Hirokazu, and they’re night and day as his mother wants him to be another soulless warrior for his grandfather’s empire, while his father dreams that his son will follow his dreams.With a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes,Drops of Godis a delectable multi-course meal that will have you begging for just one more scrap as it comes to a close.Renewed for a Season 2, who knows what’s in store for the next meal, but rest assured, it’ll be good…and a little scary.
Drops of Godis available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
