SUN201: Sunflower Sake 201 (June 2026)

Monday, June 8 from 10-4PM (break: 12-1PM) 
+ Tuesday, June 9 from 10-12:30 PM  
Review Session: Monday, July 6 from 1-3PM
Location: Sunflower Sake in SE Portland

This is our Sunflower Sake 201 course, or SUN201: a beyond-the-basics introduction to sake styles, labels, production, tasting, service, handling, and history for the hospitality professional.
Non-professionals are welcome to attend 201! However please note, a higher level of familiarity with one's palate is expected from 201 vs 101 students (the absolute basics of tasting in general will not be covered), the class will be taught a little faster, and about 1-1.5h of the content (on day 2) is oriented specifically toward sourcing and sake program management. This segment can be skipped if you prefer.

Sun101/201 are beyond-the-basics sake courses designed to provide a framework in which to understand and taste sake, with a contemporary approach informed by our ongoing engagement with the cutting edge of the Japanese sake community. The course is taught over two days with a 1:1 tutoring session for each student and a follow-up review open to both current and past students, to help cement the lessons you’ve learned.

Learn how to interpret sake menus & labels, how to taste effectively, and how to discern style and quality. With hands-on activities we’ll explore food pairing, temperature, serveware, aging, and flaws. We’ll talk about rice, water, and yeast, and taste examples of sake in each of its production stages to better understand the connection between ingredients. Finally, we’ll touch on regionality, terroir, American sake, and tips for exploring sake as a visitor in Japan.

Sun101 is offered over the weekend and includes more tourism/menu-interpretation & home-pairing content while Sun201 is offered Monday-Tuesday and includes content on menu writing, sourcing, service, & sake program management.

A 1:1 session is scheduled with each student to discuss subjects of greater interest and assist with learning/understanding. A group review and Q&A session is scheduled 3 weeks after the class to reinforce and revisit the lessons learned and is open to all alumni as well.

There is no exam, nor post-nominal. Instead, SUN201 is focused on building a practical base of sake knowledge. We'll put all the bits and pieces together in a way that makes sense and is results-oriented, rather than exam-oriented. In lieu of an exam, a group Q&A / review session is offered a month after the class. Alumni are also invited, in perpetuity, to attend future classes' Q&A sessions.

Class outline

• Exercise 1: Introduction to tasting
• Exercise 2: Ingredients, production
• Exercise 3: Styles and classifications, communicating what's useful
• Exercise 4: History and evolution of sake: past, present, future
• Exercise 5: Reading labels: English and Japanese; travel considerations
• Exercise 6: Storage, aging, flaws and customer expectations
• Exercise 7: Temperature, service and serveware in the restaurant/bar
• Exercise 8: Pairing principles
• Exercise 9: Industry overview, sake program management, suppliers

Outcomes:

• High confidence: Styles, reading labels and menus 
• Moderate confidence: Ingredients, pairing, service, handling, program management & industry overview
• Basic confidence: production, ingredients, regionality, travel, aging

Comparison to other sake education courses:

As a 2.5-day class on the fundamentals, SUN201 is roughly equivalent to WSET 1 Sake but it covers different subjects, is necessarily in-person, and not based on a textbook.

SUN201 is less rigorous than multi-day advanced courses such as Sake Scholar Course, WSET 3, and Certified Sake Professional.

Students are provided with a reference book, Nihonshu: Japanese Sake by Gautier Roussille. This is not a textbook for examination but an in-depth reference to use in the ongoing study of sake. Note that class emphasis is not on exam outcomes or memorization, but practice and building context. If you already have this book, you are eligible for a $20 credit against the course. 

Unlike WSET there is no official tasting lexicon or format, and students are instead taught different techniques for tasting and describing sake effectively. SUN201 places a greater emphasis than WSET on the different approaches to tasting, service, temperature, and pairing, a lower emphasis on production methods and grades, uses hands-on activities for learning, and is restricted to much smaller class sizes. Sun101/201 is also taught exclusively by one teacher, Nina Murphy, who developed the course.

In lieu of an exam, Sunflower Sake 201 includes a 1-month follow up Q&A / Review and tasting session to reinforce and expand upon the lessons of the original course as well as a 45 minute 1:1 tasting and discussion session with each student.

SUN201 (June 2026) is designed for F&B professionals, being offered on Monday-Tuesday instead of weekends. Sun201 goes into subjects like sake program management, importers, industry employment/paths, and pricing, as well as providing any supplier introductions. This comes at the expense of basic tasting method and Japanese sake tourism content.

Class size:

Classes are kept small to ensure optimal learning outcomes and to allow for group activities. Only 10 seats are available.

Sunflower Scholarship:

One full scholarship is available to an eligible student provided a minimum number of students have registered. Financials are not reviewed, so there is an honor system in place. If you answer "yes" to the following, you are eligible.

Are you very interested in furthering your knowledge of sake, but are unable to do so due to to the high cost of certifying courses? Are you considering one day working in/with sake? Do you love sake and want to engage with it more, but can't afford to? Is $350 an unworkable expense for your budget? 

To apply for the scholarship, please send me an email: nina@sunflowersake.com 

Refunds:

Full refunds are available until appx. 4 weeks prior to the course (May 2). A 50% refund is available until May 21st.

Exceptions: if your vacant spot can be filled by a waitlisted student, you will receive the full refund. 

Transfers: seats are fully transferable.