SAKE WSET LEVEL 1 STUDY GUIDE 2026 QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔What does Tokkuri mean? - ✔✔This is the Japanese word for a sake carafe.
Used for heating and serving sake and made of pottery
✔✔What does O-choko mean? - ✔✔This is the Japanese word for a traditional sake
cup.
The most common kinds are small pottery or glass cups that have a flat base.
The small size means that they must be frequently refilled, reflecting a tradition of
Japanese hospitality
✔✔What is "taste interaction?" - ✔✔When food and drink are consumed together, they
affect the way each other tastes
✔✔What is an example of a positive taste interaction? - ✔✔Salt and acid in foods tend
to make a drink taste "softer" (less drying and bitter, less acidic and sweeter, and more
fruity).
✔✔What are some examples of negative taste interactions? - ✔✔Umami - Tend to
make a drink taste "harder"
Sugar and Chili heat - Similar effect to umami. Chili can also increase the burning effect
of alcohol
Bitterness
✔✔What are some characteristics of Sake interacting with food? - ✔✔Sake is very low
in both bitterness and acidity.
Most sakes have some sweetness and are not especially fruity.
The negative impact of sugar and umami are negligible.
Especially in Japanese foods that are high in umami because they are also typically
high in salt/
✔✔ What are the four main ingredients of sake? - ✔✔Steamed white rice, Koji, water,
and yeast
✔✔What is the other optional additional ingredient? - ✔✔High-strength distilled alcohol
, ✔✔Where does the steamed rice come from? - ✔✔Sake brewers typically buy rice from
suppliers
✔✔What are the characteristics of the delivered rice? - ✔✔Not steamed, hard, and
dusty
✔✔Why do the brewers steam the rice? - ✔✔To soften it so that it can break up in the
water
✔✔Which ingredient is required to make the alcohol found in all sakes? - ✔✔Koji
✔✔Where does the Koji come from? - ✔✔Brewers take a small proportion of the
steamed rice and grow mold on it to create Koji
✔✔Where does the water come from? - ✔✔Sake brewers use local supplies of water.
Almost any water can be used to make sake so long as it is clean
✔✔Where do the yeast come from? - ✔✔Sake brewers use specific varieties of yeast
that they typically buy from specialist suppliers
✔✔How do you make alcohol? - ✔✔Begin by dissolving sugar into water. Yeast are
added to this sugary liquid and they eat the sugar and product the gas carbon dioxide
✔✔Where does the sugar come from? - ✔✔There is no sugar in rice, instead it is full of
a substance called starch, which is made up of sugar molecules boned together into
long chains
✔✔How is starch converted? - ✔✔Chemicals called enzymes unlock these bonds and
break up the starch into its individual sugar molecules
✔✔What happens when steamed rice and Koji are mixed with water? - ✔✔The
enzymes created by the mold convert the starch into sugar, which is turned into alcohol
by the yeast
✔✔What are the three steps that always happen when making Sake? -
✔✔Fermentation, filtration, and bottling
✔✔What are the other three optional steps? - ✔✔Adding alcohol, adding water, and
pasteurization
✔✔Why does the brewer make a small starter fermentation? - ✔✔To create a healthy
and active yeast population
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔What does Tokkuri mean? - ✔✔This is the Japanese word for a sake carafe.
Used for heating and serving sake and made of pottery
✔✔What does O-choko mean? - ✔✔This is the Japanese word for a traditional sake
cup.
The most common kinds are small pottery or glass cups that have a flat base.
The small size means that they must be frequently refilled, reflecting a tradition of
Japanese hospitality
✔✔What is "taste interaction?" - ✔✔When food and drink are consumed together, they
affect the way each other tastes
✔✔What is an example of a positive taste interaction? - ✔✔Salt and acid in foods tend
to make a drink taste "softer" (less drying and bitter, less acidic and sweeter, and more
fruity).
✔✔What are some examples of negative taste interactions? - ✔✔Umami - Tend to
make a drink taste "harder"
Sugar and Chili heat - Similar effect to umami. Chili can also increase the burning effect
of alcohol
Bitterness
✔✔What are some characteristics of Sake interacting with food? - ✔✔Sake is very low
in both bitterness and acidity.
Most sakes have some sweetness and are not especially fruity.
The negative impact of sugar and umami are negligible.
Especially in Japanese foods that are high in umami because they are also typically
high in salt/
✔✔ What are the four main ingredients of sake? - ✔✔Steamed white rice, Koji, water,
and yeast
✔✔What is the other optional additional ingredient? - ✔✔High-strength distilled alcohol
, ✔✔Where does the steamed rice come from? - ✔✔Sake brewers typically buy rice from
suppliers
✔✔What are the characteristics of the delivered rice? - ✔✔Not steamed, hard, and
dusty
✔✔Why do the brewers steam the rice? - ✔✔To soften it so that it can break up in the
water
✔✔Which ingredient is required to make the alcohol found in all sakes? - ✔✔Koji
✔✔Where does the Koji come from? - ✔✔Brewers take a small proportion of the
steamed rice and grow mold on it to create Koji
✔✔Where does the water come from? - ✔✔Sake brewers use local supplies of water.
Almost any water can be used to make sake so long as it is clean
✔✔Where do the yeast come from? - ✔✔Sake brewers use specific varieties of yeast
that they typically buy from specialist suppliers
✔✔How do you make alcohol? - ✔✔Begin by dissolving sugar into water. Yeast are
added to this sugary liquid and they eat the sugar and product the gas carbon dioxide
✔✔Where does the sugar come from? - ✔✔There is no sugar in rice, instead it is full of
a substance called starch, which is made up of sugar molecules boned together into
long chains
✔✔How is starch converted? - ✔✔Chemicals called enzymes unlock these bonds and
break up the starch into its individual sugar molecules
✔✔What happens when steamed rice and Koji are mixed with water? - ✔✔The
enzymes created by the mold convert the starch into sugar, which is turned into alcohol
by the yeast
✔✔What are the three steps that always happen when making Sake? -
✔✔Fermentation, filtration, and bottling
✔✔What are the other three optional steps? - ✔✔Adding alcohol, adding water, and
pasteurization
✔✔Why does the brewer make a small starter fermentation? - ✔✔To create a healthy
and active yeast population
