Sunflower Sake 201 (May-June 2025)

Monday, May 19 from 9-4:30PM (break: 12-1PM)
4:30-5:30PM: bottles open, taste & revisit
+ Monday, June 2 from 9-12 PM
Q&A/ Review Session: Monday, June 23 from 12-3PM

This is the Sunflower Sake 201 (SUN201) course: a beyond-the-basics introduction to sake styles, labels, production, tasting, service, handling, and history. SUN201 is designed for F&B professionals with novice to intermediate sake knowledge, and unlike 101 includes information on program management, pricing structures, sourcing, and sales, as well as a closer look at our domestic industry and pairing. 
In contrast, Sunflower Sake 101 is designed for sake enthusiasts, with a higher focus on home service and a less intensive approach to the lectures.

In this two-day, 10.5 hour class, you'll gain confidence in how to understand and recognize the various styles of sake, how to taste for professional purposes, how to discern quality, and different ways to organize this information. With hands-on activities, we'll explore food pairing, service temperature, serve-ware, and aging, and how to apply these lessons in the workplace and at home. 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 and flavors. We'll review history, in order to better contextualize the different styles of sake and the eras-- and technology-- they come from.

SUN201 also includes a discussion of practical business matters: the import pathway and supply chain, key importers and Oregon distributors, inventory management, menu design and pricing, career opportunities, and how to educate guests effectively in the workplace. We'll look at the industry "lay of the land" on a local and global level, as well as a quick review of certifications. Finally, we'll touch on regionality, terroir, and the cutting edge of sake trends. 

A group review and Q&A session will take place 3 weeks after the class to reinforce and revisit the lessons learned. Attendees will also each be able to schedule an optional 30 minute, 1:1 pairing practice session at a future date.

There is no exam, nor post-nominal. Instead, SUN201 is focused on building a practical base of sake knowledge and connecting you and I directly as peers in a growing industry network. SUN201 is knowledge-oriented, rather than exam-oriented. Alumni are also invited, in perpetuity, to attend future classes' Q&A sessions as observers.

Class outline

• Exercise 1: Introduction to sake tasting
• Exercise 2: History and evolution of sake: styles, classifications, regions
• Exercise 3: Ingredients, production
• Exercise 4: Future: trends, farming, American sake 
• Exercise 5: Organizing and communicating sake styles
• Exercise 6: Supply chain, program management, inventory management
• Exercise 7: Flaws and "flaws"; sake aging
• Exercise 8: Temperature, service and serve-ware
• Exercise 9: Pairing group activity 

Outcomes:

• High confidence: Styles, tasting, program management
• Moderate confidence: Ingredients, pairing, service, trends, flaws, assessing quality
• Basic confidence: production, ingredients, regionality, American sake, aging

Comparison to other sake education courses:

As a single-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.

While there is no textbook, each student is supplied with recommended reading. Class emphasis is not on exam outcomes or memorization, but practice and building context.

SUN201 differs from WSET 1 Sake in being specifically designed for the F&B professional, rather than serving a combination of industry and consumer.  Unlike WSET 1 there is no fixed tasting lexicon or format, and students are instead guided to calibrate their palate and develop their own lexicon of descriptors.

In lieu of an exam, SUN201 includes a 1-month follow up Q&A / Review and tasting session as well as an optional 1:1 pairing practice session to reinforce and expand upon the lessons of the original course.

Sunflower Scholarship:

One full scholarship is available to an eligible student. 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 in a professional setting, but are unable to do so due to to the high cost of certifying courses? Do you love sake and want to engage with it more both personally and professionally, but can't afford to? Is $320 an unworkable expense for your budget? 

Scholarship applications are open through the end of August and the award will be announced the first week of September. To apply for the scholarship, please send me an email: nina@sunflowersake.com .

Refunds:

Full refunds are available until 1 month prior to the course (April 19). 
A 75% refund is available until May 1st, 50% until May 10th.

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