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 confirm the Entry page.
ENTRY DETAILS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN DECEMBERAbout 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 room where the sake is judged is windless, out of direct sunlight and at a temperature of around 20°C. The temperature of the sake is approximately 12°C to 14°C, with the exception of sparkling sake, which is judged in the range of approximately 5°C to 7°C. The glasses used are wine glasses.
Each judge tastes approximately 50 different types of sake on the day of the competition and assigns a score to each sake entry. The evaluation method is an 10-point scoring system. The highest scoring sake from each category is selected.
Award Categories
Regular Competition:
- Platinum Award：the top-ranked sake in each regular competition category is selected.
- Gold Award：top 20% of the total number of sakes entered in each regular competition category.
- Sessionable Award：top 10% of the total number of sakes voted by judges
Food Matching Competition:
- Best Food Matching Award：the top-ranked sake in each food matching category is selected.
- Recommended Food Matching Award：top 20% of the total number of sakes entered in each food matching category.
For more detailed information, please refer to the Jury page.
Explore Judge Instructions
