The course runs for five days and finishes with an optional exam, which if you pass will garner you a Certified Sake Professional certification. The course costs approximately $2250, which includes the five days of instruction, materials, all Sake for tasting, four brewery visits, dinners and one shot at the exam. Space is limited so make a reservation soon if you want to guarantee yourself a spot.
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..."
The goal of this course is that “no Sake stone remains left unturned,” and the motto is “exceed expectations for the course.”
For reservations or inquiries, please send an email to John Gauntner at sakeguy@gol.com.
I previously attended one of John's classes 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 Sake. I cannot recommend this class enough.