Australian
Sake Awards 2025
May 2025
About
Australian Sake Awards
Australian Sake Awards is the International Sake Competition held in Sydney, Australia. A pre-selected Australian jury of judges tastes and judges the sake entries to the competition and selects the sake that is preferred in the Australian market.
The judges are made up of professionals, such as Australian sommeliers, sake retailers, food and beverage industry professionals, sake qualification holders, and sake importers and wholesalers. Each judge is required to attend a sake lecture for judges in advance to learn more about sake and attend the judging.
The competition aims to communicate the diverse attractions of sake to the consumer and develop sake experts with the goal to contribute to the long-term development of the Australian market.
Key Dates for 2025
Entry opens
Online briefings for exhibitors.
Entry deadline
For shipping from Japan, sake receipt date (to designated warehouse in Japan)
Judging Day
Award-winner announcement (website)
Awards Gala Dinner (Sydney, Australia)
Entry Requirement for competition sake
Entry Subject
Sake that can be entered is limited to legally licensed products to be produced and sold in Australia or is scheduled to be sold in Australia this year.
Competition Category
Beginning with this year's competition, the judging panel will employ two evaluation methods: "Regular Competition" and "Food Matching Competition".
Rather than categorising sake types based on labels, this unique competition focuses on the characteristics of each sake and its compatibility with food. This approach aims to delve even deeper into the preferences of Australians and the Australian market.
Both the "Regular Competition" and "Food Matching Competition“ consists of five categories.
1: Regular Competition
In the Regular Competition, please select the most suitable category for each sake entry and enter it.
This assessment is structured into categories that broadly classify the characteristics of each sake into five groups, regardless of the label notation of the sake type.
2: Food Matching Competition
This assessment will emphasize the exceptional compatibility of the sake with a carefully selected array of five ingredients and dishes
commonly enjoyed by Australians when they have any alcohol. For each sake entry in the Regular Competition, choose the food
category below that you believe complements it best.
For each sake entry submitted to the Regular Competition, you can select from 0 to 2 categories (max) within theavailable food categories
For more detailed information, please refer to the Entry Details.
ENTRY DETAILSAbout the Jury
The judging panel is comprise of individuals involved in the sake and wine industry, including sommeliers, personnel from liquor stores and food services, certified sake experts, and those handling Japanese sake in import and wholesale. The panel consists of 50 to 80 Australian individuals, inclusive of a diverse range of residents, who have attended two lectures organized by the association prior to the event.
Judging Method
Blind contest format (no brands or labels are visible to the jury).
On the day of the competition, the judging room is windless, free from direct sunlight, and maintained at a temperature of around 20°C. The sake will be served at a temperature of around 12°C to 14°C, except for sparkling sake and Light / Dry category sake, which are judged at approximately 5°C to 7°C. Wine glasses are used for tasting.
Each judge evaluates approximately 50 different types of sake during the competition and assigns a score to each sake entry using a 20-point scoring system. The highest scoring sake from each category will be selected.
Award Categories
Regular Competition:
- Platinum Award: Awarded to the top-ranked sake in each regular competition category.
- Gold Award: Awarded to the top 20% of the total entries in each regular competition category.
- Judge's Choice Award: Awarded to the top 10% of entries as voted by the judges.
Food Matching Competition:
- Best Food Matching Award: Awarded to the top-ranked sake in each food matching category.
- Recommended Food Matching Award: Awarded to the top 20% of entries in each food matching category.
For more detailed information, please refer to the the EXPLORE JUDGE INSTRUCTIONS.
Explore Judge Instructions
