Saké Professional Class: Portland in November

John Gauntner, the famed Saké expert and "Saké Dendoushi" ("Saké Evangelist"), is holding his 7th Stateside Saké Professional Course in Portland, Oregon from November 7-9, 2010.

The course runs for three days and finishes with an optional exam, which if you pass will garner you a Certified Saké Professional certification. The course costs $775, which includes the three days of instruction, materials, all Saké for tasting, and one shot at the exam. There are only 60 spots available for the course.

Gauntner states "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. Upwards of 90 sake will be tasted across the three days."

For the first time ever, the Stateside version of the Saké Professional Course will include a visit to a Saké brewery, thanks to the cooperation of nearby SakeOne. Plus, for the first time, each evening will have scheduled dinners at one of Portland's many sake-centric eateries!

For reservations or inquiries, please send an email to info@sake-world.com

I attended the last course in San Francisco and you can read my review here. In short, it was a superb class, taught by an excellent instructor and well worth attending if you love Saké. I cannot recommend this class enough.