Lorenzo Ferraboschi

Lorenzo is Sake Sommelier and the third international Sake Educator certified by the SSA. He was chosen by SSA as a partner for the Italian development of the association.
His passion for sake was born during his 10 years of life in Tokyo. Back in Italy he founded Sake Company, one of the most important Italian distributors of fine sake.

Alessandro Izzo

Alessandro has a huge passion for the food & beverage world. Having worked as a chef for some years, he took the plunge with a wine sommelier course in 2015 but then realized he had an unquestionable commitment to sake; which became his main passion after taking the SSA Certified Sake Sommelier course in 2016.
He also works as the sales manager for distributor Sake Company and promotes sake culture during events in Japanese and gourmet restaurants.

Roberta Sitzia

Roberta has worked in catering for over a decade, specialising in Japanese cuisine for over half of her career. Continuously studying all of this time, and earning her Certified Sake Sommelier qualification, led Roberta to focussing on her list of Nihonshu and how to pair it with various Italian foods. With her work in non-Japanese restaurants Roberta has been able to bring in sake to experiment and use in mixology for food combinations.
She has run small guided tastings alongside her sales, which brought her to earning her Sake Educator qualification with the SSA and start teaching Sake Sommelier qualifications!

Debora Calderato

After several years spent as chef in traditional restaurants in Italy, 2018 saw Debora found her own vegetarian bistrot. In 2019, together with her boyfriend, they founded Den Ramen: a pop-up which offers vegetarian versions of Japanese food with sake pairings. She became a Certified Sake Sommelier and from there decided to train as a Sake Educator in order to spread further her love for Japanese culture and its gastronomic products.

Gabriele Rossetti

Gabriele is a yamatologist and Japanese culture trainer. He has over 15 years experience in territorial marketing, culture and tourism for Japanese companies. Through training as a Sake Sommelier he was able to deepen his knowledge of one of the most important aspects of Japanese culture, and as a Sake Educator he continues to spread his love for the most authentic Japanese tradition.

Francesco Menestrina

Francesco’s career began when as a Wine Sommelier in 2016. Subsequently, he wanted to delve deeper into the field of study and pursued a degree in Enology at The University of Trento, graduating in 2019. Then, driven by a sense of curiosity and an ardent passion for Japanese culture, he embarked on a quest to become a Sake Sommelier, and later on, a Sake Educator, in order to share his knowledge with others. Before training to become a Sake Educator, Francesco has worked with guests in led tastings and pairing dinners throughout Italy and France!

Alessandro Ticci

Hi, I’m Alessandro, I am a sake sommelier, who organises courses, tastings and tours around Italy, but if you are reading this you are interested in sake, so where did your interest in Japan come from?

In Rome, as a teenager, when I used to visit my closest friend David, whose Japanese father tended the garden in kimono. He was magnificent, also because he was very tall and imposing! When David moved to Fukuoka, Kyushu, I went to visit him several times, so my experience starts with Shochu, which is more typical of that area. Now David works for a sakagura in Saga and I am a sake educator, although far away, we are always closer.

Kanpai!

Brunella Bettati

Brunella Bettati was born in Piedmont,Italy. She spent her adolescence between Italy and Brazil where she obtained her scientific high school diploma.

For approximately 30 years she worked as an Interior Designer in the bathroom furnishing sector.

In 2015 she graduated as Wine Sommelier with AIS Italia in Turin, where she still works. In 2023 she graduated from the Certified Sake Sommelier course and in 2024 she participated in the Advanced Sake Sommelier Course in Japan; following which she was recognised as a Sake Educator with the Sake Sommelier Association.

She is passionate about sports: sports climbing, cycling (in 2006 and 2007 she won the time trial world championships).

Stefano Battini

Born in Piacenza, Italy, in 1972.
In 1997 he graduated in Economics from the Catholic University of Milan. In 1998 he began his career in companies in the Oil & Gas business, owned by the American multinational Cameron, operating in the construction of subsea valves for gas and oil pipelines, reaching the position of Finance Manager.
In 2011, together with his wife Giulia and chef Takaaki Yokoyama, he opened a Japanese restaurant in Piacenza: Sosushi Plus. In the same year he became CFO for one of the most important Champagne companies, Pommery. In 2013 he returned to the Oil & Gas business, becoming General Manager of a Cameron Division.
In 2017, he decided to devote himself to his passion for catering, dedicating himself exclusively to Sosushi Plus. In 2020 he became a Certified Sake Sommelier and from 2024 a Sake Educator.
A lifelong wine enthusiast, he discovered his love for sake. In his restaurant you can find an excellent sake list that will amaze you. When you don’t find him at work in the restaurant, you can certainly meet him on board a sailing boat, the passion he shares with his wife Giulia.

Sebastiano Gambacorta

Sebastiano is a bartender from southern Italy specialising in mixing drinks from cultures across the world – a true lover of the beverage world! in 2023 he discovered sake and Japanese culture and decided to become a Sake Sommelier with the wish to discover more about this wonderful drink.
Sake completely changed his life, and as such he started to teach sake informally in the mixology world and later become a Sake Educator. Sebastiano says “sake education is a gift that you carry with you for life!”. His goal is to captivate many people and bring the culture of sake throughout Italy, especially to his beloved southern Italy.