He came to Japan as an English teacher. Now he's the world's leading sake expert

Meet John Gauntner, the world's leading non-Japanese sake expert, who sits down to talk with us about understanding good sake, the growing market around the world, and his own journey to Japan and how he became THE sake guy. -- Timestamps: 00:00 intro 00:22 Meet John 2:55 Intro to Japan 6:40 Where to start learning about Sake 7:52 What makes sake unique 10:54 When did Sake go from hobby to work 13:26 Sake Certificates 18:54 Motivation for writing about sake 20:51 What people find interesting about sake 23:33 Creating a sake course and curriculum 25:51 Misconceptions about sake 27:25 Regional difference in sake 30:14 How to categorize sake 34:54 What qualities make a "good" sake 36:04 Explaining sake grades 38:17 Changing the grading system 41:02 Why sake consumption is declining 43:34 Current trends in sake flavor profiles 44:43 Sake trends around the world 45:59 Favorite sakes 49:05 Organizing sake knowledge to share in an easy format 52:42 Future planned books 54:08 Most surprising changes in sake industry 55:50 Will sake breweries see a comeback? 59:36 Future ambitions in educating about sake 1:01:25 Which book to get to start learning about sake Liked this episode? Check out our interview with Julian, a videographer and the creative director of Future Collective!    • What life is like as a videographer in Jap...   -- Follow John Gaunter:   / johngauntner   https://x.com/johngauntner https://sake-world.com/ https://sake-world.com/store/books/ Follow us on our social media:    / @unpackingjapanshorts   https://www.buzzsprout.com/2158416   / @unpacking_japan     / unpackingjapan   https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan   / unpackingjapan   Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/