Viscount Academy Presents: For Goodness Saké
Every year on October 1st, Japan celebrates World Sake Day (Nihonshu no Hi), a day dedicated to one of the country’s most historic, complex, and culturally significant beverages. This year, Viscount Academy is extending the celebration a few days longer.
On Saturday, October 3rd, from 2pm - 4pm, Viscount Academy invites you to join us for an Introduction to Saké, an educational tasting designed to demystify Japan’s most famous alcoholic beverage and give you the confidence to better understand, order, serve, pair, and (most importantly) enjoy it.
Saké Is More Than “Rice Wine”
For many American drinkers, saké remains something of a mystery. Is it wine? Is it beer? Should it be served hot or cold? What do terms like Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo, and Nigoriactually mean?
During our October 3rd class, we’ll answer those questions and explore the fascinating story behind what is properly known in Japan as nihonshu.
We’ll begin with the history and cultural significance of saké before taking a closer look at how it is produced. Unlike grape wine, rice does not contain readily fermentable sugar. Saké brewing therefore relies on one of its most important ingredients: koji, which provides enzymes that convert rice starch into sugar while yeast simultaneously converts those sugars into alcohol. This remarkable process (known as multiple parallel fermentation) is one of the features that makes saké production so unique.
We’ll also explore the importance of rice polishing, learn how polishing percentages are interpreted, and discover how decisions made in the brewery can dramatically influence aroma, texture, flavor, and style.
Six Unique Expressions from One Historic Japanese Brewery
Of course, the best way to understand saké is to taste it.
For this class, we’ll turn our attention to Hakutsuru, the historic producer founded in 1743 in the Nada district of Kobe, one of Japan’s most celebrated saké-producing regions.
Throughout the afternoon, we’ll taste six unique Hakutsuru products, carefully selected to demonstrate the remarkable range of flavors, aromas, textures, and styles that can be found within the world of saké and Japanese beverages.
Rather than simply tasting six different bottles, we’ll use each glass as an opportunity to understand why it tastes the way it does. We’ll explore how differences in rice polishing, brewing techniques, filtration, fermentation, and finishing methods can produce dramatically different results.
By tasting these styles side by side, terms that may have once seemed intimidating will begin to make sense (and choosing your next bottle of saké should become a whole lot easier).
Celebrate World Sake Day With Viscount Academy
Whether you already enjoy saké but find the terminology confusing, have only encountered it alongside sushi, or have never seriously explored it before, this class is designed to be an approachable and delicious introduction.
World Sake Day may officially fall on October 1st, but we’ll keep the celebration going on October 3rd. Join Viscount Academy as we raise a glass to centuries of Japanese brewing tradition and discover just how diverse, food-friendly, and fascinating saké can be.
Viscount Academy: Introduction to Saké
Saturday, October 3, 2026
2pm - 4pm
Featuring a guided tasting of six unique Hakutsuru products
Come curious. Leave knowing what Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo, and Nigori actually mean (and with a whole new appreciation for what can happen when rice, water, koji, yeast, and centuries of craftsmanship come together in a glass).
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