Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre wins the Saké Master 2025
Paris, September 29, 2025 – The first edition of the Saké Master 2025 competition, dedicated to sake serving and tasting, took place at the Boris Vian Auditorium in the Grande Halle de la Villette. Organized by Whisky Live Paris and Kura Master, with Dassai as exclusive partner, this event highlighted the richness of Japanese culture and the booming popularity of this beverage in the French market. Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre, sommelier and journalist specializing in Japanese spirits tasting (including sake) for VertdeVin Magazine, founder of the company OTSUKIMI and the Oba restaurant, distinguished herself with her expertise and won over a jury composed of professionals and experts in this category.
Three Challenges to Test Sake Mastery
For one day, some forty candidates, including sommeliers and hospitality professionals, competed in a comprehensive program that included a multiple-choice quiz on sake culture, a blind sensory analysis, and a discussion on food and sake pairings.
The final, where the candidates demonstrated their expertise in a format designed to reveal the true ambassadors of sake, took place this Monday at the Boris Vian Auditorium before an audience of professionals. The jury, composed of Estelle Touzet (sommelier and consultant), Sakura Franck (chef of the restaurant “Paris sous les cerisiers”), Gwilherm de Cerval (sommelier and food journalist), as well as two sake samurai, Youlin Ly and Key Miyagawa, praised the demonstration of expertise of Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre, who was awarded the title of winner. First place in the competition was rewarded with a professional trip to Japan to meet producers and discover sake terroirs.
Winners of The Sake Master 2025 Competition
Winner: Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre, sake sommelier, sake trainer, and shochu and awamori consultant, founder of the Oba restaurant in Bordeaux.
Second place: Julia Scavo, sommelier.
Third winner: Jean-Baptiste Bosc, Head Sommelier of the Vaisseau restaurant in Paris
A strong commitment to the recognition of sake in France
The Saké Master competition aims to become an annual event, supporting the growth of sake in the French market, at the initiative of La Maison du Whisky and La Maison du Saké. Beyond the competition, this ambition is reflected in the Saké District, a space dedicated to sake within Whisky Live Paris, which is showcased alongside the major spirits categories and confirms the growing public interest in this Japanese beverage.
ABOUT WHISKY LIVE PARIS: Since its creation in 2004 by La Maison du Whisky, Whisky Live Paris has become the largest whisky and spirits tasting event in the world. A must-attend event for industry professionals and spirits enthusiasts, it attracts thousands of French and international visitors each year. Whisky Live Paris offers a unique opportunity to taste all categories of spirits—whiskeys, rums, gins, sakes, agaves, etc.—and to discover world-renowned and emerging distilleries, as well as the latest trends and innovations in the industry. In Asia, La Maison du Whisky has also organized the Singapore edition of Whisky Live since 2010.
ABOUT KURA MASTER: The Kura Master is an internationally renowned Japanese sake competition held annually in Paris. Created in 2017, it showcases the excellence and diversity of sake among sommeliers, chefs, and professionals in French and European gastronomy. Bringing together a jury composed of sommeliers, bartenders, and experts from the world of wines and spirits in France, the competition promotes sake and shochus according to sensory criteria similar to those used for great Western wines and spirits, thus facilitating their integration into French and international gastronomic culture. By establishing itself as a bridge between Japan and Europe, Kura Master strives to democratize sake and consolidate its place on tables around the world. A symbol of cultural exchange and transmission, it actively contributes to establishing sake as a beverage of excellence in contemporary gastronomy.
ABOUT DASSAI: The Dassai brand is a global benchmark for premium sake, produced by the Asahi Shuzo Brewery in Yamaguchi Prefecture. A symbol of modern sake, the brand combines technological innovation and respect for traditions to offer a unique and refined experience. Recognized for its range of junmai daiginjo of great purity and remarkable aromatic elegance (DASSAI 45, DASSAI 39, DASSAI 23 and DASSAI AU BEYOND), Dassai aims to make sake accessible to as many people as possible and to place it at the heart of international gastronomy. With its visionary approach, Dassai embodies the future of sake: a drink of excellence, universal and contemporary.