The Tasting Panel magazine

December 2014

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90  /  the tasting panel  /  december 2014 winners Aya Nomoto, Jaime Graves and Bradley Daniel Smith arrived in Tokyo with Ueno to represent the U.S. in the rigorous, two-day event. While not unlike the Advanced Exam from the Court of Sommeliers, this competition has a unique set of parameters much like saké itself. On the morning of the competition, the contestants gathered at the Metropolitan Edmont Hotel to compete in the semi-final round. Classical music played softly in the background as they waited in silence for the orientation to begin—a veritable calm before the storm. They were facing two days of practical examination that included a service scenario and a timed theory presentation. If they were fortunate enough to make the finals, they would be facing a second service exam, a blind tasting and an extemporaneous speech. While not held up for public scrutiny until the final round, contestants were enthusiastically photographed and inter- viewed by a cadre of Japanese press all while competing. New York contestant Jaime Graves, who ultimately took sixth place in the finals, characterized the scene: "Enjoying and appreciating saké is all about enthusiasm." A random draw for competition order put American Bradly Daniel Smith up first. Smith, a Sommelier with the John Howie restaurant group in Seattle who was previously with Roka Akor in Chicago, stayed impressively composed while Japanese paparazzi hustled to capture his every move during the ten-minute preparation phase preceding the first practical. Each contestant was shown to a staging area where they could familiarize themselves with the sakés and shochus selected for the exam and were given a choice of glassware and tools, including an instant-read thermometer. Smith thoughtfully tasted each product, scribbled notes and pairing ideas and was escorted into another room for a role-playing service examination that was conducted in Japanese for a panel of four judges. Contestants interacted with a couple who were celebrating a wedding anniversary, and both guests had requests and questions designed to test the working knowledge and skill set of the competitors. Queries veered from food pairings to more technical observations about rice quality and saké styles. The few non-Japanese speaking competitors like Smith were assigned a translator for every stage of the competition. While Smith's translator was an asset, transla- tion served as a disadvantage for some. Fluent speakers like Manhattan-based Jaime Graves, General Manager at SakaMai Modern Izakaya and Saké Bar, and Aya Nomoto, a native of Chiba and Business Development Manager for Saké and Asian Beverages for Wirtz Distributing in Las Vegas, clearly had the advantage. In her role at Wirtz, Nomoto caters to 150 accounts in Las Vegas where cult saké is center stage. "Las Vegas is First place winner Yasuyuki Kitahara, Assistant Head Sommelier at the Conrad Hotel in Tokyo.

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