Learn about Japanese wine Sake through online certification courses from experts

For the first time in India, two online Sake learning courses offered for Sake enthusiasts

Sanjeev K Ahuja On Sep 14, 2021

One of the Japanese Sake breweries displaying Sake wines at Japanese Embassy in New Delhi recently.

NEW DELHI/TOKYO: There is good news for the lovers of the healthy Japanese alcoholic beverage Sake. They can now get to learn more about this national liquor of Japan online and smell and taste as well.

For the very first time, two organizations working for the education and promotion of Sake in India and worldwide have launched online courses for wine sommeliers, hoteliers, and others in the hospitality industry as well as for the Sake enthusiasts.

Sake Club India (SCI) is organizing its first online course on Sake on September 19. SCI the largest Facebook community of sake enthusiasts in India with about 1200 members has offered its one-and-a-half-hour online course that enables participants to obtain the Nihonshu (日本酒) Navigator certification, Japan.

Japanese brewers serving Sake to Indians at Japan Embassy in New Delhi in 2019.

Grape Xpectations, an organization that offers courses for wine and other certifications, is organizing its first online course in India on September 25 offering the participants a first-grade certificate by the Sake Sommelier Association, London.

Ravi Joshi, Founder of Sake Club India said that Mika Eoka of Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association will join online from Japan to make the presentation for the participants and deliver Sake-related useful tips.

“We would also try to dispatch sake to the participants so that they can taste it and enjoy the aroma. The Sake Club India course called “Sake Fast Forward” (SFF) is qualified to award the “Nihonshu Navigator” certification from Sake Service Institute (SSI) Japan. However, we are also offering this course minus the SSI certification for those who just want to learn Sake without the certification,” Joshi added.

He said that the SFF is designed as an online beginner-level course with no physical tasting of Sake involved for now. In the future, SCI may also have a version with physical Sake tasting once the Covid situation improves and the availability of Sakes in India is better.

On the other hand, Grape Xpectations is organizing a 6-hour online Sake course, is a boutique beverage training institution providing top-notch WSET Wine and Spirit education, as well as a Whisky Ambassador program in India.

Industry veteran Kunal Kaul of Grape Xpectations said, “We champion the introduction and promotion of highly specialized, qualitative beverages from different parts of the globe, and have acquired the distinction of becoming India’s ONLY Certified Sake Education training center.”

The successful candidates will get an SSA certificate and a badge.

Working in close association with the Sake Sommelier Association, Grape Xpectations aims to share its team’s extensive knowledge of Sake with the increasingly discerning Indian population. Sake Sommelier Association is the world’s leading organization dedicated to the global education and promotion of Sake. Sake, a fermented rice beverage that historians acknowledge as being intertwined with the social fabric of Japan, is a very ancient beverage.

As the national beverage of this island nation, it holds a special place in people’s hearts. With some unique characteristics (such as the fact it can be served chilled, warm, or even hot) and a distinct flavour, it deserves to be seen and experienced by a larger audience of students, enthusiasts, and professionals.

“To ensure this happens, Grape Xpectations is leaving no stone unturned in evangelizing this lesser-known yet delightful beverage through curated educational material. As more Indians forge ties with the land of the rising sun through their travels, work stints, and overseas education, Sake has the potential to become a vital conduit in cultural exploration,” said Kaul.

Sake Sommelier Association has been inspiring the world through sake education for more than 2 decades and with its presence in over 20 countries, it leads the way in Sake Education and Competitions around the globe.

He said that passionate about his vision of bringing niche global beverage training programs under one roof in India, he is working tirelessly to promote Sake in the fraternity.

With this winning partnership, Kunal hopes the day isn’t far when Sake will scale new heights and showcase an important Japanese cultural icon to India, strengthening the ties between both nations even further.