Yutaka Kanzaki, a wine critic whose reviews have enough clout to move the industry worldwide, has died-leaving behind a wine collection worth over two billion yen. Only the one who can name his favorite bottles, plus vintages, will inherit this dream of a cellar. It's a battle between Yutaka's biological son Shizuku and adopted child Issei to identify these “Twelve Apostles”-along with the very best wine in his collection, the so-called “Drops of God.”

Kanzaki Shizuku is the son of a recently deceased, world-renowned wine critic, Kanzaki Yutaka, who owns a vast wine collection. In order to take ownership of his legacy, he must find 13 wines, known as 'The Twelve Apostles' and 'Les Gouttes de Dieu' that his father described in his will. He has a competitor by the name of Toomine Issei - an acclaimed young wine critic who just happens to be his father's adopted son. Shizuku has never drunk, nor had any previous knowledge of wine, but with strong senses he submerges himself in the world of wine to solve the mysteries of the 13 wines.

Wine novice Shizuku Kanzaki has defeated his rival, up-and-coming wine critic, Issei Tomine in their first of twelve wine hunting trials to find the Drops of God. By the slightest of margins, he was able to distinguish a variance in vintage to capture the First. Now Shizuku has to utilize all his abilities to take on a determined and humiliated Issei, as they both go forth in search of a particularly capricious Bordeaux. Yutaka Kanzaki laid down a very task with the First Apostle; this Second will be a statement to test the mettle of both contestants.

"Layton Jonquil is a man tormented by the lies surrounding the death of his late wife, but he cannot deny his growing attraction for the beautiful governess whose goodness and optimism have touched his dormant heart." --Back cover.

One last challenge stands between Shizuku Kanzaki and his father's fortune-to identify the wine his father called “The Drops of God” in his will. Problem is, he's up against Issei Tomine, a famous wine critic his father adopted shortly before his death. Alone and penniless following his journey around the world to gain knowledge and train his senses for the final showdown, Shizuku stumbles into a western-style izakaya to work for food and a place to stay. But when Shizuku uses his newfound smarts to save the struggling business, a competing chain launches an identical menu and enlists the help of a rising sommelier to go head-to-head with them. In order to stay on top and survive this brutal business, it all comes down to perfecting the food and wine pairings-the blissful mariage of flavors which delights the senses.

The "Third Apostle," according to Yutaka Kanzaki's will, has the power to evoke nostalgia for the past. Shizuku, sensing his decisive lack of wine experience, visits wine collector and film director Kurokawa in search of that kind of life-changing wine. He agrees to help, but only if Shizuku can convince film star Nanami Matsushita to see things his way... The third round begins with a deep look into the past!

The wine division has a young new staffer--Ryusuke Kido, an avowed wine hater so prejudiced against the drink that he refuses to try it! How to get him to change his mind? In search of an answer, Shizuku travels to his father's villa in Nagano, pursuing memories of his younger years. There, underneath the house, lies part of Yutaka Kanzaki's two-billion-yen wine collection--memories of wine, and people, from the past...