IWC 2014 Sake Judging

In London, on the 14th and 15th April, IWC 2014 sake judging was undertaken with a staggering new record of 725 entries in 7 categories. This year, two new categories of sparkling sake and ordinary sake were added to the original repertoire of Junmai, Junmai Gijo/Daiginjo, Honjozo, Ginjo/Daiginjo and Koshu. The judging panels were carefully selected to represent a balance of half Japanese and half non-Japanese palates. A total of 45 sake experts participated in the judging, representing 12 different countries.

IWC sake medal winners will be announced on the 7th May, and trophy winners, who are the best of the 7 categories, will be announced on the 14th May on the Sake Samurai UK website in addition to  www.internationalwinechallenge.com (English), www.sakesamurai.jp (Japanese)

Another interesting feature this year is that we had the largest entry of sake made outside Japan; Canada, US and Norway entered the competition and were judged under the same criteria as Japanese sake. This international element may be an indication of a growing sake industry outside Japan, and the possible recognition of new world sake in the future.