Drops of God: Series 1 Review
A compelling wine drama where sensory science, memory, and human rivalry collide.
Drops of God sits in an unusual but compelling space: part family drama, part intellectual puzzle, and part love letter to wine. I’m not a TV critic, but as someone familiar with wine education and tasting frameworks, this series stood out for how confidently it leans into its subject matter without dumbing it down.
The central premise is undeniably far-fetched. A globe-spanning inheritance battle resolved through blind tasting challenges is not how estates are settled in the real world. Yet this is precisely what keeps the series gripping. The stakes are high, the rules are clear, and each episode advances the contest in a way that feels more like an engineering problem than a melodrama: constraints, trade-offs, and human fallibility under pressure.
Where the show really succeeds is character development. What begins as a straightforward rivalry slowly reveals layered backstories, cultural tensions, and unresolved personal histories. Characters evolve as new information is revealed, and motivations that initially feel abrasive or opaque begin to make sense. This slow unpeeling is handled with restraint and rewards attention.
From a wine perspective, Drops of God is refreshingly credible. The tasting language, sensory memory, and discipline required to blind taste at a high level will feel immediately familiar to anyone who has studied for a WSET or similar qualification. The show treats tasting as a learned skill, built through repetition, calibration, and emotional recall, rather than some mystical talent.
Visually, the series is superb. The cinematography is polished and deliberate, with vineyards, cellars, and cityscapes shot in a way that reinforces wine’s association with time, place, and craftsmanship. There is a consistent sense of luxury.
Series 1 sets a high bar. If Series 2 (starts 21 January) builds on this foundation rather than escalating gimmicks, Drops of God could become a benchmark for how niche expertise can drive genuinely compelling television.