On a nice April morning, I've got a call from Rie Yoshitake, whom I know from numerous sake events.  "Alex, would you like to be a sake judge at IWC", she asked out of the blue. "Yes!", I replied without any hesitation. It was my dream for the last couple of years and now it's been fulfilled! Yay!

In this episode, I am talking about the IWC (International Wine Challenge), how the judging happens, my personal experience and my takeaways from three days of intensive judging. 

Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the widest selections of premium and craft sake available online today. They deliver across the UK and Europe, and with over 100 sake from 25 breweries, there really is something for everyone.

Using simple online tasting notes and sensible, affordable food pairings they help you find the perfect sake without any of the fuss. Listeners of the podcast can get a 10% discount Listen to the episode to get the magical code! London Sake: making sake simple.

Episode's Content:

What is IWC (International Wine Challenge)How I got into IWC judgingWhat is the IWC judging processMy personal judging experienceWhat I learnt during the IWC SakeMy sake discoveriesA little Q&ASake of the episode: Suigei Junmai Ginjo Ginrei

Kampai!
Sake mentioned:
Suigei Junmai Ginjo Ginrei
Suigei Sake Brewery
London Sake

Music used:
Wirklich Wichtig (CB 27) by Checkie Brown https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Checkie_Brown_1005/hey/Wirklich_Wichtig_CB_27

Just Arround the World (Kielokaz ID 362) by KieLoKaz
 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/KieLoKaz/Free_Ganymed/Just_Arround_the_World_Kielokaz_ID_362

Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Vocal: Svetlana