GROS VENTRE 2021 FIRST BORN PINOt NOIR
& APPLE TV's "DROPS OF GODS"
September 2023
As wine writer Esther Mobley put it in The San Francisco Chronicle, “Wine TV shows are usually bad. But this one is excellent.” We completely agree. The “Drops of God” series on Apple TV is not only good enough for us to recommend, but for us to pair it with none other than our tête de cuvée – the 2021 First Born Pinot Noir. The series is 100% accurate with regards to the world of wine, but more importantly, it’s full of love. The wine becomes secondary to the humans drinking it. And that’s where it really sings.
When your life and work are as wine-centric as ours is, it can be refreshing to escape into something totally different on the screen (for this reason, Sarah was a bit reluctant to watch this series). But from the beginning, we were both hooked. Fascinating elements of wine history and enjoyment were woven into themes of succession, love, and family.
Episodes touch on the origins of wine in France, the obsession with wine in Japan, the complex mental layers involved in smelling, tasting, and evaluating wine, and most importantly, the humanity of it all. The story hit close to home for Chris, bringing him back to his days in restaurants as a sommelier. It also touches on a lot of our present day activities with its viticulture and enology references. It reminded us of why we pursue excellence in our wines, and refreshed our inspiration and purpose.
The 2021 First Born Pinot Noir is the perfect pairing for this series. It’s at a quality level that main characters Issei Tomine and Camille Léger would respect, made from exceptional Pinot noir grapes from a world-class region, hand-picked, sorted, gently crushed and fermented, aged in Francois Frerer barrels for 20 months, from an excellent vintage. More importantly, it’s a human wine, inspired in 2009 by our (as yet unborn) first child, and made with love by our family. Drops of God’s storyline centers on the love and hopes of a parent for their child… making this pairing ideal on many levels.
Please let us know if you try this pairing! A reminder — you MUST have a good glass to properly enjoy this wine. There are several choices; just make sure your glass has a big crystal bulb. Our favorite is the universal stem made by Gabriel-Glas. It flatters all wine types (including sparkling) and is beautiful in its own right. It’s designed to “open the aroma and drive the bouquet” of any wine and we feel it delivers on that promise.
Need more wine? Order yours today at www.grosventrecellars.com. Enjoy!