Marie-France Champagne, coordinator of the sommelier program.

A level 1 sake class led by sake educator Mariko Tajiri will be held at Algonquin on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27.

Sake is a Japanese rice wine made from fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. The percentage of polished rice affects the quality of the sake.

The event is a collaboration between the Independent Wine Education Guild and the college. It will involve a full day of study and a test after which participants will be Wine and Spirit Education Trust certified.

Sake has been a part of Japanese culture for a long time, but there’s been a resurgence of independent sake breweries across the world that has sparked people’s interest in the drink.

“Now people just want to know more about sake,” said Marie-France Champagne, coordinator of the sommelier program.

Champagne hopes to bring the certification course to Algonquin once a year.

“I want people to try more sake,” said Champagne.