The Age: A graphic grape with hints of lemon and manga
...Sales of Osborn's The Laughing Magpie 2006 vintage started soaring before it appeared in The Drops Of God (rumours leaked that it would be featured before it went to print) and the 200 bottles in Japan sold immediately. Since then, demand has exceeded supply and the renowned South Australian winery has completely run out of the vintage, going into the early release of the 2007 vintage. Such is the extraordinary influence of the comic series, which started in 2004 when siblings Yuko and Shin Kibayashi, under the pseudonym Tadashi Agi, set out to inform Japan of the delights of French wine. It triggered a wine boom in Japan and commands unprecedented influence over wine markets throughout Asia. The comics have millions of fans not only in Japan but in Korea, China and France. To the delight of the Australian wine industry, the creators have turned their attentions from French wines to ''New World'' wines, including Australian wines, with a focus on screw tops in particular. In the recent edition, the cartoon's main character, Shizuku Kanzaki, travels abroad to sample d'Arenberg's The Laughing Magpie, saying he is surprised that such a nice drop came from a screw-cap bottle. ''It's spicy and overflowing with energetic life. It's both exotic and made for normal people at the same time...more...