AN EDUCATION
The new Level 1 course is ideal for anyone
whose job includes some work with sake, and
who needs a basic understanding of the major
categories and how they are made. Both are also
ideal for enthusiastic sake consumers who wish
to deepen their knowledge.
NK: Do you have to have done the lower levels in
wine before attempting the WSET sake course?
There is no requirement to have studied
wine before studying sake. We made a deliberate,
careful decision to treat wine, spirits and sake
as independent products. IN the classroom we
sometimes can make some illuminating contrasts
and comparisons between categories. But these
are explained at the time.
AM:
Whom do you seek to communicate sake
with? Individuals, restaurants or a mixture?
NK:
will be a market correction in the near future –if
we will see some brands dropped and companies
exit a sector that is currently very competitive, or
if the market will grow fast enough to support the
current number of players. Either way, the trend
is upwards and likely to continue to be so, rather
than being a temporary fad)even if projecting is
difficult because the trends are so little unstable
and hard to predict.
How have awards such as the IWC sake
award and events such as Hyper Japan helped
to communicate sake to a European audience?
NK:
With the people I know in the wine
industry, IWC Sake has done a huge amount
to spread awareness. The target for Hyper Japan
is different –I imagine it is effective, but I have
not been involved.
AM:
What cultural barriers to sake still need to
be crossed for people to enjoy sake like wine?
NK:
AM: Many of the sake-related job roles lie currently
in restaurant, but in many countries the import
and distribution sectors are growing too. These,
and shop retail, can all be carried out more
effectively when the employees understand their
product. Success, for us, means reaching all of
these sectors. Individual sake-loving consumers
are not a specific target, but we hope to encourage
them too, and in our experience we know that
they gain a lot from the course.
NK:
People who are fussy and elaborate about
wine service (obsessing over food pairing, serviceware and service temperature) are likely to stir
themselves into an intimidated state when
encountering sake –perhaps wishing it to be
just as complex, but lacking the knowledge to
cope with the anticipated complexity. In fact,
both can be very simple to appreciate and enjoy,
as well as rewarding further study for those that
wish to undertake it.
I am a little disconnected from the hard side
of the trade, but I can share my impressions. It
seems that there are many more sakes coming into
the market, and more importers and distributors
becoming involved in sake. I am not sure if there
The idea that sake should be served in appropriate
Japanese serviceware, with appropriate Japanese
cuisine, is the single most limiting factor inhibiting
wider enjoyment of sake. Once someone discovers
that they like the flavour of sake, I would like
them to feel comfortable drinking it chilled, in
a wine glass, with pizza, pasta, paella, or paneer.
How has the sake market changed in the
last 5 years in the UK? (both in commercial and
domestic markets)
AM:
AM:
MUSEUM OF SAKE JOURNAL 54