SAKE DAY 2026 – “ISSOTY” Winner John Gauntner Wants to School You!
As mentioned in the last Newsletter, the 2026 “International Sake Soul of the Year” Award Winner is the legendary John Gauntner, who has educated practically half of the world about our favorite libation for the past 25 years. In a word, John single-handedly created the first educational platform pitched to English speakers and has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest communicators of sake in history.
And he’s our buddy! So, we asked John if he wanted to use his day at SAKE DAY 2026 “on the floor” to talk up his upcoming online course that is right after SAKE DAY ’26. He said yes, and what follows are the details:
Sake Professional Course Live Online #16 will take place on two consecutive weekends, October 9, 10, and 11, and again the following Friday and Saturday, October 16 and 17, from 7:00 PM to 11:30 PM ET each day. Zoom recordings will be made available immediately following each session and will remain accessible 24/7 to students until the exam.
The content of this course is the same as the in-person Sake Professional Course, minus the massive tasting sessions. However, I will run smaller online tasting sessions (in which participation is totally optional) of two or three sakes each day for those who are interested, and will help students procure the sake for those tasting sessions—with lots of help from your favorite sake retailer (psst: that would be True Sake).
You can learn more here. Or you can go to this page and avoid the PDF file if you prefer. And you can get a ten percent (10%) discount on the tuition, too. How? By sending me an email to sign up for the course that includes the True Sake Secret Word for this month. I will send you a special link for the discounted amount.
Also, I will be “on the floor”—standing on the floor, that is—at SAKE DAY ’26 receiving the “International Sake Soul of the Year” (ISSOTY) Award, for which I am humbly honored, near the entrance where you will get your “Welcome Sake” drink, then circulating and enjoying the event and the sake therein after that. Please say hi! -- John Gauntner