Q: Are there live webinars or scheduled classes?
A: No, and we want to be straight about that before you buy. There are no live webinars and no sessions you have to be awake for. What you get instead is a five-week structured course on WSET Global's platform with a real WSET educator reading and responding to the tasting notes you submit. So it is not a lonely self-study product and it is not a timetabled class either - it is a schedule with a human attached. If a live session at a fixed time is the thing that gets you to open the book, tell us at support@napavalleywineacademy.com before enrolling and we will point you at a format that has one.
Q: So what am I actually getting for $699?
A: The five-week course on WSET Global's own sake learning platform - lecture videos, interactive guides, online activities, quizzes and mock exams - plus the part that matters most: you submit your own tasting notes and a WSET educator reads them and responds. The printed WSET textbook is included and mailed to you on registration. You keep the online material for 12 months from your course start date, and your online exam registration and fee are covered.
Q: What is the single best thing about this course?
A: The tasting note feedback, and it is worth understanding why. Learning the WSET Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting Sake® from a book teaches you the vocabulary. Having an educator read your assessment of an actual sake and tell you where it drifted is what calibrates your palate - and it is genuinely uncommon in online beverage study, where feedback is almost always automated. This is the reason a self-paced course still costs $699.
Q: Whose platform is this on, and when do I get access?
A: WSET Global's own sake learning platform - both Level 1 and Level 2 Sake are hosted there rather than on our system. Your login credentials arrive by email about two days before your course start date, not at the moment of purchase, so do not worry if nothing appears immediately after checkout. If they have not arrived by the day before your start date, check spam and then email support@napavalleywineacademy.com.
Q: If there are no live sessions, why does the course have fixed dates?
A: Because the educator support is scheduled even though the learning is not. You join a five-week cohort with a start and end date, and during those weeks your submissions get read and answered. Work through the modules whenever suits you inside that window - early mornings, after service, whatever fits - but do submit your tasting notes during the five weeks rather than saving them for later, because that is when someone is there to respond.
Q: Is the textbook included?
A: Yes - and this is worth noticing, because it is unusual. The printed WSET Level 2 Award in Sake textbook is included in the price and mailed to you on registration. On our wine, spirits and beer courses the printed book is an optional extra costing $65 to $99; here it is part of what you are buying, and it is yours to keep permanently.
Q: What does the course actually cover?
A: The ingredients first - the ones brewers are required to use and the ones they choose, including the rice varieties grown specifically for sake. Then processing: how steamed white rice and koji are made, and why different styles need different polishing ratios and different styles of koji. Then production from fermentation starter through to dilution and packaging, and how each choice produces a different style. You also learn common labelling terms, including how the most important ones are written in Japanese - which is the difference between guessing at a bottle and reading it. Running through all of it is the WSET Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting Sake®.
Q: Do I need to buy sake to taste, and how much?
A: Yes, and you should plan for it before enrolling, because tasting samples are not included. The specification lists around thirteen groups of recommended samples covering palate calibration, different polishing ratios, different yeast strains, genshu, tokubetsu, speciality styles and service temperatures. You need them in the glass to submit tasting notes worth getting feedback on, so this is not an optional part of the course. Sake is not always easy to source outside major cities - check what your local retailer or a specialist online shop can get before your cohort starts rather than after.
Q: Where do I find the more unusual bottles?
A: A dedicated sake retailer or a Japanese grocery is usually the answer, and several specialist shops ship within the US. The categories that catch people out are genshu and tokubetsu, which mainstream stores rarely carry. Your educator can suggest practical substitutions within a style, and you can ask us at support@napavalleywineacademy.com before you start - it is a better question to ask early than in week four.
Q: How much study time does it need?
A: WSET specifies a Total Qualification Time of 26 hours for the Level 2 Award in Sake: 15 guided learning hours, one of which is the examination itself, plus around 11 hours of private study. Across five weeks that is roughly five hours a week. It is a lighter commitment than the wine equivalent at 28 hours, but the material is unfamiliar to most Western students - the vocabulary, the production process and the Japanese terminology are all new - so do not treat the hour count as the whole story.
Q: Do I need Level 1 Sake first?
A: No. This qualification suits both newcomers and people with some foundational sake knowledge, and there is no formal prerequisite. If you are completely new to sake we do recommend starting with the WSET Level 1 Award in Sake at $357, which gives you the vocabulary before Level 2 starts using it - but plenty of students come straight here, particularly if they already work in wine or hospitality and are used to structured tasting.
Q: Does my wine knowledge transfer?
A: Partly, and it is worth knowing which parts. The discipline of systematic tasting transfers directly - if you already work the WSET wine SAT, the sake version will feel familiar in shape. What does not transfer is the production knowledge: sake is brewed rather than fermented from fruit sugar, koji does work that no grape process has an equivalent for, and polishing ratio has no wine analogue. Expect the tasting to come easily and the production chapters to be genuinely new.
Q: Who is this course wrong for?
A: Two groups, and we would rather say so than take the money. Anyone who needs a live class to stay on track: there are no webinars here, and if fixed sessions are what make you turn up, this format will not supply them. And anyone who cannot get hold of sake to taste - without bottles in front of you the tasting notes are guesswork and the educator feedback, which is the best part of the course, has nothing to work with. Check both before you enroll.
Q: What is the exam format, and what do I need to pass?
A: A closed-book theory exam: 50 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, one mark each, taken online with remote invigilation. The pass mark is 55%, which is 28 correct answers out of 50. Merit is awarded for 70 to 84%, which is 35 to 42 correct, and Distinction for 85% or above, which is 43 or more. There is no separately assessed tasting component at Level 2 - the sakes you taste and the notes you submit build your palate and earn you feedback, but they are not examined.
Q: When can I sit the exam, and how far ahead must I register?
A: You register through your online course, and you must do so at least 30 days before your chosen date and within 12 months of your course start. The 30-day rule is the one that catches people, because it means deciding early rather than once you feel ready. Sittings listed at the time of writing include 7 October 2026 and 9 December 2026; the current list, including dates beyond those, is shown when you register inside your course. If you want to line a specific sitting up with a specific cohort before you buy, email support@napavalleywineacademy.com and we will confirm what is open.
Q: How long do I keep access to the material?
A: A full 12 months, counted from your course start date. The taught portion is five weeks, so the videos, activities, quizzes and mock exams stay available for months of revision afterwards - which matters here because your exam may well sit some weeks after the cohort ends. The printed textbook, of course, is yours permanently.
Q: What happens if I let the 12 months run out?
A: Your included exam registration expires with it and a fresh exam fee would apply. Combined with the 30-day registration cut-off, drifting is the most common way self-paced students come unstuck - not the sake, the calendar. Pick your exam date early in the course and work backwards from it.
Q: What equipment do I need for the online exam?
A: A laptop or desktop computer - tablets are not permitted as your primary device - with a working webcam, microphone and speakers, plus a mobile phone to act as a secondary camera. You will also need government-issued photo ID, a reliable broadband connection and a quiet room where you will not be interrupted and cannot be overlooked. A proctor observes you for the full hour, so test your setup in advance rather than on the day. Our help centre has a remote exam quick start guide and a walkthrough video.
Q: Can I move my exam date, or resit if I do not pass?
A: Moving to a different sitting costs a $99 exam transfer fee. If you do not pass you can resit without retaking the course; a Level 2 Sake resit costs $220. Neither is covered by the course price, and the 30-day registration rule applies to the new date too.
Q: What do I get when I pass?
A: A globally recognised WSET Level 2 Award in Sake, issued as a digital certificate and badge - WSET no longer ships paper certificates or physical pins. You can post the badge to LinkedIn or send it to an employer as soon as it arrives, and describe yourself as WSET Level 2 Certified in Sake.
Q: What is the qualification worth in the trade?
A: Sake expertise is scarce outside Japan, which is precisely why this credential travels well. It is the qualification that lets you build a sake list rather than copy one, explain to a guest why a junmai daiginjo costs what it does, advise on service temperature with a reason attached, and read a Japanese label rather than rely on the importer's back label. That is directly useful in restaurants, retail buying, distribution and importing - and there are far fewer people who can do it than there are people who can talk about Burgundy.
Q: How old do I have to be?
A: WSET requires candidates to be over the legal minimum age for the retail purchase of alcoholic beverages in the country where the exam is held, with limited exceptions for full-time students or candidates with parental consent. In the United States that means 21. If your situation is not straightforward, ask us at support@napavalleywineacademy.com before enrolling.
Q: Which edition of the qualification is this?
A: Issue 1, published 2024 - the current specification, and the one the exam is set against. You can download it from this page before you enroll if you want to see the syllabus and the full recommended sample list in detail.
Q: Can I cancel or move to a later cohort?
A: Our online course refund and transfer terms apply - and because your printed textbook is mailed and your WSET platform access is arranged before the course begins, act early rather than late. Email support@napavalleywineacademy.com as soon as you know, and see our General Policies page for the current terms before you buy.
Q: Is there a group discount?
A: Yes, applied automatically at checkout when you book together: 5% for two students, 8% for three and 10% for four. Worth knowing if you are putting a restaurant or retail team through together - and sake is a subject where training a whole floor at once pays off quickly.
Q: Can I speak to someone before I book?
A: Please do. Email support@napavalleywineacademy.com and our student support team will help you judge whether to start at Level 1 or Level 2, which cohort and exam sitting fit your calendar, and what sourcing the tasting sakes will realistically involve where you live. If you would rather have a live class than a self-paced one, say so and we will tell you what is available.
