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Announcing the 2nd Stateside Sake Professional Course
To be held in
San Francisco
August 10, 11, and 12, 2008
On August 10, 11 and 12, the second Stateside Sake Professional Course will be held in San Francisco. The course will be held at The Firehouse in the Fort Mason Center, located in the historic piers and buildings of Lower Fort Mason, which is itself located between Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge on San Francisco Bay.
Attendees will be afforded spectacular views during breaks. (Check out those links!)
The course will run for three full days, after which participants will have an opportunity to take an exam for Level I Sake Specialist certification. The cost for the course is $750,
which includes three full days of instruction, materials, all sake for tasting, and one shot at the exam. Meals, lodging an the like are not included in the tuition.
Attendance is limited to 60 and is half-full (half empty?) at this point, and those interested can make a reservation by sending me an email. The content of this three-day intensive
sake course will be identical to that of the Sake Professional Course held each January in Japan, excepting of course the sake brewery visits and evening meals.
The course is geared toward industry professionals wishing to expand their horizons in a thorough manner into the world of sake, and will therefore necessarily be fairly technical
in nature, and admittedly somewhat intense. But the course is open to anyone with an interest in sake, and it will certainly be fun! The course lectures and tastings will begin
with the utter basics and will thoroughly progress through and cover everything related to sake. There will be an emphasis on empirical experience, with plenty of exposure to a
wide range of sake in the tasting sessions throughout the three days.
Each day will provide the environment for a focused, intense and concerted training period, and will consist of classroom sessions on all things sake-related, followed by relevant tasting sessions.
The goal of this course is that no sake stone will be left unturned. Every conceivable sake-related topic will be covered, and each lecture will be complimented and supplanted by
a relevant tasting. Participants won't simply hear about rice type differences and yeast type differences, they will taste them. Students will not only absorb technical data about
yamahai, kimoto, nama genshu, aged sake and region-related difference, they will absorb the pertinent flavors and aromas within the related sake as well.
Like its counterpart held in Japan each winter, it will be quite simply the most thorough English-language sake education in existence. Participants will also be presented with a
certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Also, for the first time, an exam will be given at the end of the course for those that
choose to seek certification. Note, the exam is not only optional, but also participants will retain the right to take the exam at any time in the future free of charge, allowing them
time to prepare, and still enjoy this class. Those that pass said exam will receive a "Level I Sake Specialist" certification from the newly formed Sake Education Council.
The cost for the three-day class, including all materials and all sake for tasting, is US$750. Participation is limited, and reservations can be made now to secure a seat,
with a deposit of half the above amount being due July 15. For reservations or inquiries, please send an email to SakeCourseStateside@sake-world.com.
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Syllabus and Daily Schedule
Below is a tentative and general syllabus and schedule of the three-day program.
Day I
The first day only will begin in the afternoon to allow those traveling from other cities to arrive at a leisurely pace that morning.
12:30 - 2:30 Welcome, Orientation, Sake Basics, Sake Types, Reading Sake Labels
Tasting I: typical representatives of various grades, milling rates
2:30 - 5:00 Sake Production
5:00 - 7:00 Rice Types, Yeast Types, Water
Tasting II: Rice types, Yeast types
Day II
9:30 to 12:00 Sake Chemistry: nihonshu-do, acidity, amino acidity, et cetera. Koji.
Yamahai and Kimoto (30)
Tasting III: Yamahai and Kimoto.
12:00 to 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 5:00 All things nama, including muroka nama genshu. Pressing methods
including shinshu, shiboritate, arabashiri and more. Aging, Maturity and Vintage (or the lack thereof), Nigori, Low Alcohol Sake, Sparkling Sake, Red Sake
Tasting IV: Nama-zake, shinshu et al, aged sake, mature sake, over the hill sake, low alcohol sake, sparkling sake red sake
Day III
9:30 – 12:00 Vessels, Temperature, Ritual (or the lack thereof), Sake and Food
Tasting V: One sake in many vessels. Sake Suited for Warming.
12:00- 1:00 Lunch
1:30 – 3:00 Toji guilds, the reality with toji system now. regionality, History, The Old Ranking System, The Current State of the industry: biggies, smallies, blue chips, contracting, Sake Contests, Terms to Know.
Tasting VI: Typical Regional Representatives.
3:00- 4:00 Break
4:00 - 6:00 Exam
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To see testimonials written by graduates of past Sake Professional Courses, click here.
For more information, email SakeCourseStateside@sake-world.com.
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