Other
Shinya Tasaki
Honorary president
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
The sommelier trade, in Shinya Tasaki’s case, was built from kitchen work, formal study, competition practice, publishing, association leadership, and high-protocol service. Japanese and born in Tokyo, Tasaki began working as a chef at age 17, giving his later wine work a direct relationship to heat, seasoning, timing, and the needs of a dining room. At age 19, in 1977, he took a solo trip through French wineries, bringing his early interest in French cuisine and wine into contact with the language, culture, and working structure of wine regions. Formal sommelier training followed in Paris, where Tasaki moved to attend sommelier school. The return to Japan in 1980 shifted that training into education: tasting method, service language, and French hospitality practice became material to teach, adapt, and place inside Japanese dining culture. That work later connected Tokyo classrooms and salons with international sommelier institutions and diplomatic service settings.
The Climb
Kitchen work in Tokyo gave Tasaki’s wine practice a cook’s frame: wine had to answer to food, not stand outside it. The chef role placed him inside the practical sequence of service, where balance is judged against seasoning, pacing, and the table rather than theory alone. Competition and broadcast settings tested that knowledge under public pressure. As challenger at Iron Chef in Fuji TV (1998–1998), Tasaki worked in a format built around timing, precision, and performance, bringing professional wine and service knowledge to a broader audience without changing the technical basis of the work. International summit service required another register of the same craft: exact protocol, beverage readiness, and hospitality calibrated for formal state settings. Tasaki supervised service and beverages at 26th G8 Summit in Okinawa (2000–2000), then later served as president at Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) (2010–2017), placing his work within the central global organization of the sommelier profession. Screen work remained a side note to the beverage and service record. Tasaki appeared as actor; Hideo Kusunoki, episode 3 at Black Pean (2018–2018), then returned to high-level protocol work by supervising beverages at G20 Osaka Summit in Osaka (2019–2019). He became AWA Sake Ambassador (from 2022), and later supervised service and beverages at 49th G7 Summit in Hiroshima (2023–2023). Institutional work has been the constant structure around the service record. Tasaki is founder of SENTIR Corporation (since 1996), founder of Shinya Tasaki Wine Salon (since 1996), publisher of Vinothèque (since 2003), president of Japan Sommelier Association (since 2016), and honorary president of Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) (since 2024). These roles center on transmission: how wine is taught, described, served, published, and carried between professional communities.
The Current Chapter
Wine education in Ginza, Tokyo, has a fixed address through Shinya Tasaki Wine Salon, founded by Tasaki in 1996. The salon format gives tasting and service training a controlled setting: smaller than an institution, more formal than casual instruction, and suited to repeated practice in language, evaluation, and professional standards. Publishing extends that same educational function beyond the room. Since 2003, Tasaki has been publisher of Vinothèque, adding a printed forum for wine culture, record, and discussion.
Signature
The signature is sommelier technique joined to education and service protocol. In Tasaki’s work, tasting, aroma reading, structural assessment, table communication, and beverage supervision are treated as linked skills. The through-line runs from chef work in Tokyo to sommelier school in Paris, then into wine education in Japan, association leadership, publishing, and service at international summits.
Recognition
Recognition in this record moves from technical competition to public honors. Tasaki's honors include Yellow Ribbon Medal of Honor (2011), Tokyo Governor's Prize as a Meister (2006), Chevalier of the Order of Agricultural Merit (1999), Best Sommelier of the World (1995), 3rd International Sommelier Competition, second place (1990), and 3rd All Japan Sommelier Best Technique Award Competition, first place (1983). The sequence marks national technique, international competition standing, and later acknowledgment of broader service to wine culture and the sommelier profession.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Shinya
What is Shinya Tasaki's day job?
Shinya Tasaki is honor President and Representative.
Where did Shinya Tasaki work before?
Earlier in their career, Shinya Tasaki worked at Iron Chef, 26th G8 Summit, and Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI).
What recognition has Shinya Tasaki received?
Yellow Ribbon Medal of Honor (2011).
