Sommelier insights: Wine and sake with Tokyo-based Wayne Shennen

A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.

Sommelier Wayne Shennen is a Certified Sommelier and the first New Zealander to achieve certification as an Advanced Sake Professional.

Wayne has worked in hospitality in Australia and New Zealand since 2002. And in 2019, Wayne and his Japanese wife, Makie, relocated to Japan to open a sake and wine bar, Rangitoto Tokyo.

The venture seemed well timed to capitalise on the Rugby World Cup and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but Wayne and Makie could never have predicted that ‘other’ global event.

Wayne is also the author of the e-book, Demystifying Sake, which you can find on Amazon, and he has worked in sake breweries in Ishikawa, Saga, and Gifu prefectures.

You may also like:

The NBA’s wine obsession, with Baxter Holmes of ESPN: S10E1

UK wine writer Matthew Jukes on non-alc wine & more: S12E1

Brewing legend Chuck Hahn's 50-year global brewing odyssey: S11E2

Iconic cocktails: Julio Bermejo, creator Tommy’s Margarita cocktail: S4E8

On a mission to get more New Zealand and Australian wines into the hands of Japanese wine buffs, Wayne is also passionate about raising sake’s undervalued reputation as the stuff of dodgy Hollywood binges (Tom Cruise has a lot to answer for).

I asked him how Japanese sake piqued his interest such that he came to devote his career to the beverage.

More must-listen episodes:

Two Paddocks wine with Sam Neill, pinot noir obsessive: S6E6

Wine critic Jancis Robinson on the changing world of wine: S4E4

Brewing historian Tara Nurin, and beer sensory expert Briony Liebich: S11E6

Cocktails meet coffee with Mr Black Spirits: S8E5