The following interview with Lorenzo Farraboschi was done by our regional director Heather Denny during her visit to the Milan Sake Challenge 2025 and is available in English only.

Bringing Sake to Italy: Lorenzo Ferraboschi on Building a New Culture Around an Ancient Drink 

When Lorenzo Ferraboschi returned to Italy in 2010 after a decade in Japan, he didn’t expect to miss sake as much as he did. But without access to the drink he had come to enjoy, its absence became impossible to ignore.

“My mother-in-law started sending us boxes by air from Japan. It was expensive, but it was the only way,” Ferraboschi recalls. “Eventually, my wife and I thought—if we enjoy sake this much, maybe others would too.”

At the time, sake was almost nonexistent in Italy. What was available was typically low-grade or oxidized, not suitable for drinking. “There was nothing fresh or balanced. Just ceremonial sake or old bottles that had sat for too long at room temperature,” he explains.

In 2014, Ferraboschi and his wife took a leap of faith and imported a single pallet of quality sake. “We said to ourselves: if it doesn’t sell, we’ll just drink it.” It was the beginning of a much larger movement.

Laying the Foundation: From Curiosity to Certification 

The first hurdle wasn’t logistics—it was awareness. Even in Japanese restaurants across Italy, many people didn’t recognize sake as a beverage worth exploring.

“Some chefs told me, ‘Our customers don’t ask for it, so we don’t carry it,’” Ferraboschi says. That realization led him to deepen his own expertise. He trained with the Sake Sommelier Association in London and traveled back to Japan, where he visited breweries and spoke directly with brewers—thanks in part to his language skills and his wife’s connections.

By 2015, he had become the official Italian representative of the Sake Sommelier Association. That same year, he hosted Italy’s first sake education course. “About 20 to 25 people came,” he says. “And it coincided with Expo Milano, which turned out to be important for us.”

Japan had brought large volumes of sake to Expo Milano 2015, much of which ended up in restaurant kitchens across the city. “Staff didn’t know what to do with it,” he says. “Some ended up in our course. That helped spark the beginning of the sake community in Italy.”

Picture Source: Milano Sake Challenge

A New Audience, A Growing Scene 

Today, there are nearly 1,000 certified sake sommeliers in Italy. Ferraboschi points to the Milan Sake Challenge as proof of how far things have come.

“At our events, people talk about kimoto, shirokoji, and fermentation methods. There’s real curiosity and depth now.”

The Sake Challenge is built on personal outreach. “We invite every brewery individually,” he says. “Each year, we send a hand-signed, well-designed invitation printed on quality paper. It’s about building trust and showing care.”

This care extends to design. Ferraboschi’s background is in architecture and industrial design—fields he worked in while living in Japan. That influence led him to introduce a design award in the competition.

“Often, people pick a bottle because of the label. The first time is about looks; the second time is about what’s inside.”

Pairing Sake with Italy 

One of the most unique aspects of the Milan Sake Challenge is its food pairing day, now in its sixth edition. Ferraboschi and his team pair sake with iconic Italian products like Parmigiano-Reggiano, San Daniele prosciutto, and Piedmont truffles.

“We also serve dishes familiar to Japanese chefs—like pasta all’arrabbiata or tiramisu. They act as bridges between cultures.”

The judges are a mix of certified sake sommeliers and official tasters from Italian food consortia. “They understand both products. That’s essential,” Ferraboschi says.

Supporting the judging is a custom-built multilingual app that allows for consistent scoring and live feedback. “It helps brewers understand what Italian consumers like—more acidity, less sweetness, things like that. And it helps judges compare their own scores to the group average.”

Picture Source: Milano Sake Challenge

Looking Ahead: Milano Sake Experience 

The next milestone is the Milano Sake Experience, a public, free-entry event featuring over 500 sake bottles, all stored at 2°C to ensure freshness. Certified sommeliers will be at each table, guiding guests through tastings and answering questions.

“This is about visibility,” Ferraboschi explains. “Brewers also bring experimental bottles and get real feedback—not just from sommeliers, but from everyday consumers. That’s powerful.”

A Long-Term Vision 

Ferraboschi’s long-term goal is simple: normalize sake in Italy.

“We want sake to be an option alongside wine and beer. People don’t have to become experts, but they should feel comfortable choosing it and talking about it.”

In Milan, that change is already happening. Sake is showing up on more menus. Other cities—Parma, Turin—are following. “It takes time,” he says. “But it’s moving.”

“This isn’t a trend. It’s a long-term project. And we’re in it for the long run.”