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Katana's Sake Program: The Tale of Eiji and the $2,600 Bottle | L.A. Weekly

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Katana's Sake Program: The Tale of Eiji and the $2,600 Bottle | L.A. Weekly

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The next time you take a sip of sake, here's a fact to consider: There are about 100 varieties of rice used in sake-making, and 87 of them are officially registered with the Japanese government. Sake is a very serious endeavor in Japan.

At Katana Restaurant on the Sunset Strip, sake is front and center on the drinks menu: There are 10 sakes by the glass and 45 solely by the bottle, including a super-premium style for $2,600. Supervising the program is certified sake sommelier Eiji Mori, ever-present with recommendations and happy to share his knowledge of the fermented beverage.

If you think Katana, which specializes in robatayaki and sushi, takes its sake seriously, you can imagine how Japan as a whole reveres the stuff. Wet rice cultivation and the subsequent fermentation of that rice can be traced back to about 300 B.C. in Japan. (Sake itself can be tracked back to China circa 4000 B.C.) Historical records chronicle how early sake was made: Villagers would chew rice grains and nuts, then spit into a communal tub, where their saliva would help naturally ferment the rice. Several centuries later, koji mold thankfully replaced saliva for fermentation, and eventually yeast was discovered, making the entire process more efficient - and a bit more appetizing for the rest of us.

At a recent visit to Katana, Mori took us through a quick tutorial about sake's intricacies. Different rices, he explained, are used to make different sakes. To make the final product, the rice is first polished. The more you polish the rice, the better the grade of rice and the more elegantly flavored the product.

The highest level is Daiginjo sake, which uses rice that has been polished to 50 percent or less of its original size, resulting in a grain whose top layers have been removed to expose the starchy core of the rice. Because starch converts to sugar and sugar to alcohol, the starch is key to any fermentation process. The more finely milled the rice, the more sophisticated and complex the product, because the grains have been stripped of outer hull impurities such as fats and proteins, which affect the flavor profile.

The other two basic sake group are Junmai Gingo, which is polished to at least 60 percent its original size, and Junmai, which is polished to at least 70 percent its original size. Despite these classifications, sake flavor is a very personal thing. Just because one is more delicate doesn't mean it's better. Like wine, sake is meant to be drunk in different situations - sipped on its own or served with food.

It's not surprising that at Katana, according to Mori, "Junmai and Junmai Gingo are the most popular style because they pair extremely well with with food, and they are a reasonable price. The Nigori style [cloudy-looking with a creamy, almost banana-like flavor] of sake, also known as unfiltered sake, is popular as well." One of the brands to which Mori is partial is Tentka Kuni Junmai, a thick, earthy style, which needs food - Wagyu beef, foie gras (if you don't live in California), tempura - to counter its heaviness. On its own, the sake is certainly well-made, but when tasted with the fattiness of meats or fried foods, the flavors dance in the mouth.

In contrast Dassai 23, a Daiginjo style, is fruity and clean with a dry finish, ideal for sipping on its own better to experience its floral, fruity, slightly spicy layers.

For those who are still wary of sake, Katana offers several sake flights, including a typical lineup of various grades and a non-traditional selection of yuzu-infused, blueberry sparkling (called, of all things, Banzai Bunny) and Nigori styles. These provide an ideal introduction for the sake novice.

As sake knowledge grows, the beverage's popularity is growing as well. Back in 1960, there were only 400 sake breweries left in Japan. According to Mori, as of 2012, there were 1,200. Still, sake lags far behind wine in terms of output: In California alone, there are about 3,500 wineries by comparison. And sake is still trying to shake off its negative image as a warm rice drink served in little ceramic carafes. At Katana and most other sake-centric spots, the sake is slightly chilled and, when Mori pours it, often in a wine glass, so you can swirl and breathe the heady aromas.

While sake - which actually has more in common with beer because of its fermentation and rice mash - is unlikely to surpass wine in popularity, it's slowly started to establish itself as a class of beverage all its own.

"Now, guests are drinking premium cold sake," Mori says," and becoming knowledgeable in regard to the sake they choose."
Lesley blogs at 12 Bottle Bar, tweets at @12BottleBar and is the author of the book "Gin: A Global History." Her book "12 Bottle Bar," co-written with David Solmonson, is due out at the end of summer 2014. Email her at ljsolmonson@gmail.com. Want more Squid Ink? Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

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Katana's Sake Program: The Tale of Eiji and the $2,600 Bottle

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The next time you take a sip of sake, here's a fact to consider: There are about 100 varieties of rice used in sake-making, and 87 of them are officially registered with the Japanese government. Sake is a very serious endeavor in Japan. At Katana Restaurant on the Sunset Strip, sake is...

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A Big Change Just Hit the World of Sake. Here’s What You Need to Know - Bloomberg

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A Big Change Just Hit the World of Sake. Here’s What You Need to Know - Bloomberg

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Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a change in international policy that will change the way American consumers drink and buy sake.

From now on, in the U.S., "Japanese sake" will be protected under the Geographic Indicators laws-the same ones that say Champagne can come from only one region in France, and Parmigiano Reggiano can be labeled as such only if it comes from one specific area of Italy. In exchange, Japan will similarly recognize the terms "Tennessee Whiskey" and "Bourbon Whiskey."

Source: Innovative Dining Group

These distinctions are important because of whiskey's popularity in Japan and sake's increasing prevalence in the U.S. At the moment, an estimated 70 percent of the sake sold in the U.S. is made domestically, thanks to California-based producers such as Ozeki and Takara as well as newer, small-scale operators such as Dovetail, in Massachusetts, and Oregon's SakeOne. But you may not know it, because all sake that's sold in the U.S., whether it comes from Japan or not, has been labeled simply "sake"-until now.

A Transitional Moment

Naming aside, sake has been undergoing a change on both sides of the Pacific as brewers experiment with the rice-wine fermentation process to get a broader variety and depth of tastes.

It's all about doing less to get more, says Beau Timken, owner of San Francisco-based True Sake, the first sake-only store in the U.S. when it opened in 2003. "They're getting bolder, bigger, more prominent flavors, and more layers of flavor" by letting the sake do what it wants to do. For most breweries, that means pulling back on additions such as lactic acid and water and doing things the way their great-grandfathers did.

Producers such as Shiokawa, Born, and Dassai are creating richer, more complex sakes that add new layers of spice and textural interest to their sakes. Such venues as San Francisco's Nara, New York's Momosan Ramen & Sake, and Sosharu in London are offering chances to see a the new, wider range of today's sake.

Premium sake-not the hot stuff served at your sushi takeout joint-is mostly junmai, pure rice sake, as opposed to honjozo, which includes a small amount of brewer's alcohol to lighten the texture and the body, or futsushu, the mass-market value buys that make up nearly 80 percent of the market.

In the junmai category, taste can vary significantly as well, depending on how much the rice is milled. Straight junmai is the least milled and is typically earthy and full-bodied; daiginjo is the most milled and often floral and silky. Ginjo is somewhere between those two.

The Terms to Know

A label may not have words like "natural" or "no added alcohol," but sake brewers like to let you know what they're doing. So here are four terms, besides "Japanese sake," to look for:

Nigori

"It's one of the oldest styles of sake," says Toshio Ueno, vice president at the Sake School of America. It's as close as you can get to unfiltered sake, hence its milky white color. Nigori sakes today are typically fruity, simple, and somewhat sweet and are more popular here than in Japan. Try the Kikusui Perfect Snow for a classic example, or if you want something with more pop, the Dassai 50 Junmai Daiginjo Sparkling Nigori ($20/360 ml) gives it a fun spin with bubbles.

Kimoto

Kimoto sakes rely on indigenous, airborne bacteria to create lactic acid, a preservative, rather than simply adding it directly; it was the normal practice until the 20th century . The Taiheizan Tenko Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo ($72/720 ml) is dry and fuller-bodied, with a yogurt-like tang from those acids-rare in sakes, which usually have only about one-third the acidity of wine.

Genshu

Genshu sakes are stronger, as they aren't diluted with water before bottling. "Only in the past 40 years did brewers start diluting sake to give it a different taste," says Timken. The Cowboy Yamahai Ginjo Genshu ($30/720 ml) from Shiokawa combines that added heft with more pronounced acidity from the Yamahai process, which is similar to that of a Kimoto, described above. "This one is very appealing to red wine drinkers and is designed to go with meat, including beef."

Namazake

The Born Mokura Junmai Daiginjo Nama Genshu ($45/720 ml) can make its way to U.S. shelves only by the mercy of refrigerated shipping. Until a dozen years ago or so, Namazakes were available only at the brewery because they're not pasteurized and thus don't travel well. The upsides of the freshness include pleasant grassy and vegetal aromas. "Namazakes are more raw and alive," says Eiji Mori, resident sake expert at the dining group behind Sushi Roku and Katana restaurants. Mori says the Born is fruity and rich, the latter owing in part to being Genshu as well and therefore higher in alcohol.

Koshu

This aged sake style is tawny-colored and intense, with similar aromas found in madeira or oloroso sherry. It was highly prized in Japan until 1880, when the Meiji government started taxing sake in storage rather than when it was sold, which discouraged aging at the brewery. Daruma Masamune ($160/720 ml) ages its Koshu for 10 years; Natsuki Kikuya, founder of London's Museum of Sake, describes it as soft and smooth, with aromas of spice, cedar, and nuts.

(Corrects specifications of rice milling in eighth paragraph.)

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A Big Change Just Hit the World of Sake. Here's What You Need to Know

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Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a change in international policy that will change the way American consumers drink and buy sake. From now on, in the U.S., "Japanese sake" will be protected under the Geographic Indicators laws-the same ones that say Champagne can come from only one region in France, and Parmigiano Reggiano can be labeled as such only if it comes from one specific area of Italy.

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Sake is 2,000 years old in Asia, but here it's just hitting puberty.

"We're at that point where wine was in the 1950s, when people didn't know what Burgundy was," says restaurateur David Haskell.

Next month, Haskell opens Bin 8945 in West Hollywood. It's a Caribbean wine bar-bistro, but its list will include 15 sakes. "Those of us in the business are learning as we go."

The hubbub must seem quaint in Japan, where today younger drinkers often prefer beer, wine and the high-octane distilled wine, Soju. Stateside, the old is new, as sake bombs give way to spots on respected wine lists.

Among the restaurants that have made a home for sake are Sona, Doug Arango's, Water Grill and, of course, Geisha House, which has 50 varieties. The steakhouse Boa shares sake sommelier Eiji Mori with Japanese grill Katana, which has the largest list in L.A. And over the last decade, boutique sake sales have doubled in the U.S.

Why the fuss? "Sake goes with everything," says Eric Swanson, who served as sake consultant for Morimoto in New York and Shibuya in Las Vegas. "People are beginning to realize that."

Part of sake's appeal is its subtlety, says Doug Arango's chef Chris Bennett. "I don't know that I'd match them with pork chops or barbecued ribs, (but) we have a progressive oyster tasting and sake is a slam dunk with that."

More than 80 varieties of sake rice and the degree to which they're polished largely determine sake's flavor. The more-polished Daiginjo creates a crisper, fruitier sake that goes well with fish; less buffing makes Junmai fuller-bodied and a good pair with meat dishes. And since sake is 80% water, the water's source means as much to sake as terroir does to wine.

Unlike wine, sake takes as little as 35 days to make. And there's no cellaring: it should be consumed within 36 months of being bottled. Once opened, it has a shelf life up to three weeks.

And then there's the taste. "There's no bite to it, no tannins. It's just silky and easy drinking," says Water Grill sommelier Cara Bertone. Easy drinking can also mean easy drunken; most sakes have an alcohol content of about 15%.

Whatever amount you consume, drink it cold. Swanson compares the hot sake of many sushi restaurants to "moonshine."

Variety Weekend met with sake experts at pan-Asian restaurant Typhoon, which overlooks the Santa Monica airport runway. Typhoon serves a wide variety of sakes; upstairs "sushi hideaway" The Hump carries more rare rice wines. Wally's Wine in Westwood has one of the city's best sake selections, although all our prices are approximate. Bottles are 720 mL, unless noted.

JUNMAI
(up to 30% of rice polished away)

JUNMAI GINJO
(50% of rice polished away)

DAIGINJO
(Up to 70% of rice polished away)
OTHER SAKES Tasters included Geisha House sake sommelier Mauro Vitali, Katana assistant general manager and sake sommelier Eiji Mori, Bin 8945 managing partner David Haskell, Water Grill sommelier Cara Bertone and Typhoon/The Hump's director of operations, Chris Schaefer.

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Sake is 2,000 years old in Asia, but here it's just hitting puberty. "We're at that point where wine was in the 1950s, when people didn't know what Burgundy was," says restaurateur David Haskell. Next month, Haskell opens Bin 8945 in West Hollywood.

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News: Sushi Roku Opening in Orange County – June 2015

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News: Sushi Roku Opening in Orange County – June 2015