Wayne Shennen is not only a top class sommelier but also incredibly knowledgeable about sake. Jayne and Catherine pepper him with questions about food matches and how to best order sake when you are starting out. Wayne has started to build bridges between New Zealand and Japan in his area of the hospitality industry, which we think is fantastic and an inspiration for other New Zealanders in Japan. 

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In this episode you’ll hear:

• How Wayne came to be in Japan running his own restaurant in Yushima, Tokyo
• Sake and wine pairings with Japanese food
• Will we see Rosé become a new fad in Japan?
• How Wayne is building a bridge between Japan and New Zealand through hospitality
• Beautiful premium wine choices that Wayne is exporting into Japan and why he chose those brands to work with

About Wayne

Hailing from Tauranga, Wayne Shennen is the owner operator of a NZ wine bar and restaurant in Yushima in Tokyo called Rangitoto Tokyo. He came to Japan to study martial arts and like many of our Jandals, has stayed and moved from the original reason for coming to Japan to his now successful business. He is a certified sommelier with over 20 years of hospitality experience and has also studied sake and promoted sake. 

Wayne has specialized in Japanese beverages, and he also has extensive cocktail, wine and spirit knowledge, having put together and managed beverage menus in quality restaurants. He also has import experience with wine into Japan and has been featured in publications such as “Demystifying Sake” and “The Sake Alchemist” and is a member of the Wine Scholar Guild as a French and Spanish Wine Scholar. As well as being proficient in Japanese language he also speaks Portuguese! 

Connect with Wayne

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-shennen-6396a58/ 

Website: https://ja.rangitototokyo.com/ 

Jandals in Japan is brought to you by Catherine O’Connell Law and PodLaunch with Jayne

Connect with Jayne and Catherine

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jandals-in-japan-podcast/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jandalsinjapan/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jandalsinjapan 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jandalsinjapan