Sake, the stylish sensation

NOT long ago, tossing back tiny cups of hot sake to wash down sushi or tempura was about the cool ritual and the warm rush of alcohol. But today, artisanally produced sakes, served cold and savored slowly, have exploded onto the scene, extending far beyond Japanese restaurants. Sakes pop up in food pairings and tasting flights at tony restaurants, sommeliers wheel out carts with dozens of varieties, and $200 bottles aren’t at all unusual.

Known as jizake, which loosely translates as “local or country-style,” these elixirs with subtle, nuanced flavors rival wine in their ability to enhance the taste of food.

In the midst of this sake-sampling frenzy, though, sake may still seem to be one of the great mysteries of the East, even for the most adventurous of diners. Sake list descriptions can be confusing and vague, and few Americans have the vocabulary and references to understand the labels. Is that $160 Ginga Shizuku on the menu really worth $160? Or is that $18 junmai a bargain in waiting? When you’re a sake neophyte, it’s hard to say.

But learn a few terms, rely on knowledgeable sommeliers, and it’s easier to make sense of it all than you might think. The rewards are tremendous.

Even the smallest kura, as sake breweries are called, have a finger on the pulse of changing consumer tastes. Many head brewers are experimenting with new yeast strains that can produce more focused flavors and styles. They’ve revived ancient rice cultivars, improved polishing methods and borrowed technological advances from sake mass producers. New sake styles -- whether ultra-dry or intensely floral or elegantly balanced to complement a wide range of foods -- are winning new devotees and moving jizake into fine dining rooms of every stripe.

All sakes are made from steamed and fermented rice. Jizake -- as opposed to futsu-shu (the mass-produced sake we used to sip hot) -- comes in four basic styles: junmai, honjozo, ginjo and daiginjo, each having sub-categories. A jizake can also be a combination of styles.

Junmai is pure rice sake to which no alcohol has been added. It is made from rice polished so that 70% or less of the grain remains. With fairly assertive flavors and less fragrance and complexity than sakes from more polished rice, junmai sakes have more body and are a good entry-level sake.

There are many styles of junmai sake. Those making use of special handling techniques or rice more highly polished than the minimum requirements are labeled tokubetsu junmai.

Junmai lacking ginjo (or premium) status, although theoretically not as refined, is viewed as more traditional and preferred in many instances for its rusticity. The Boa steakhouses in West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Las Vegas offer Suikagura junmai, which is made exclusively for Boa by a brewery in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture.

“Most regular junmai are not as light or fragrant as daiginjo,” says Tom Cardenas, Boa co-owner and sake expert. Instead, they have a woody nose and the smell of rice and alcohol. Suikagura has a buttery taste but finishes very clean so it pairs with steak and other grilled meats. “I look at junmai as the red wines of sake,” Cardenas says.

Daiginjo, considered the ne plus ultra of sakes, literally means super premium. It refers to sakes brewed, in a process involving intricate steps, from rice that has had at least half of its exterior polished away, revealing its pure “starchy” heart. They require painstaking crafting, local mineral-rich spring water and unique rice strains.

These sakes are prized for their gorgeous light fruitiness and refreshing acidity, which sets off the flavor of mild raw fish and salads. They’re also drunk as aperitifs, by themselves. They’re so delicate and complex that it seems inconceivable that their floral aromas and gentle, nutty flavors were coaxed from the starchy centers of rice grains.

Ginjo, close to daiginjo, refers to premium sakes made using a slightly simpler process than daiginjo and using rice polished so that 60% remains.

Sake pairings

RECOGNIZING the wine-like character of many jizakes, sommeliers across the country are giving careful consideration to how they might work as a match for their cuisine. At Providence, wine director Thierry Perez has paired an amuse of abalone-like, yuzu-accented whelks with a crisp, herbaceous Hakkaisan junmai ginjo. “There’s no wine that sets off its flavor better than this junmai,” Perez says.

Because ginjo and daiginjo flavors are so ethereal, sommeliers often recommend them as aperitifs. Alessandro Sbrendola, formerly longtime wine director at Valentino, and now at Enoteca Drago in Beverly Hills, offers at least a quartet of sakes, primarily daiginjo, at any one time.

He loves to enlighten patrons about the way a refreshing Matsunomidori junmai daiginjo, for instance, with its grassy finish, complements crudos or grilled branzino.

Sbrendola says his customers don’t seem surprised to find sakes in an Italian wine bar. “Even dyed-in-the-wool oenophiles are asking how to pair them,” he says. He’ll pop open a bottle of his newest sparkling sake, urging customers to sample it with the strawberries he’s set before them.

Daiginjo sakes need not always be junmai sakes. In the case of Ken, the daiginjo that Cardenas recommends with seafood appetizers, a small amount of alcohol added during its brewing adds dryness to an otherwise richly floral sake; the wine-like characteristics shoot up dramatically -- yet it still has the fruitiness of a daiginjo. The lesson here: Although added alcohol is sometimes associated with cheaper rotgut sake, it adds wonderful dimension if judiciously used in a well-made brew.

Honjozo sake, a relatively new style, is made with brewer’s alcohol added to the fermenting mash. Strict guidelines dictate that honjozo sakes be made from rice polished so at least 70% remains and that in the final brew, the added alcohol can make up no more than 25% of the total alcohol. One honjozo example, Yuki no Matsushima, has a light clean flavor designed to pair with rich dishes such as miso-glazed salmon.

Today, labels on sake bottles are getting more informative. Importers are listing the sake’s style, alcoholic content and, for hard-core sake buffs, relative dryness values. This is sometimes expressed as SMV (for sake meter value) or Nihon-shu do. A sake with an SMV of +1 means it’s only slightly dry; a higher number means a drier quality, with some sakes going up to +20 with the addition of brewer’s alcohol. But these values might not be that useful to the untrained Western palate, which is likely to perceive many of the sakes as bone-dry. But sake makers are also including more translations on the labels, and dreaming up such expressive names as Demon Slayer and Southern Beauty to appeal to a Western audience.

In addition to the different styles, other terms are used to describe sakes. Gen-shu (shu is another word for sake) refers to a potent 20% alcohol sake. Sakes are customarily blended to achieve about 15% to 17% alcohol, but no water is added to gen-shu after brewing.

Shizuku sake, meanwhile, is often characterized as the Rolls-Royce of daiginjo; some sake labels describe this type of sake as “Divine Droplets.” It is sake that trickles from the mash through the filtering bag -- drop by drop -- without any of the usual pressing or squeezing. One such shizuku, a junmai daiginjo by Hitori Musume, is beautifully clear, with pretty aromas and complex flavors.

Seasonal brew

ANOTHER type of sake, unpasteurized nama-zake (literally, raw) is to sake what “draft” is to beer. It requires refrigeration and must be drunk soon after opening. As with unpasteurized cheese, nama-zake (also called nama sake) retains myriad flavor layers and subtleties that are often lost in pasteurizing. Gokyo junmai by brewer Arabashiri is an example of this. Fruity and floral, this seasonal brew is a favorite of sake enthusiast Clarence Wong. “I cried when we sold the last glass, because I couldn’t get it again till next season,” said Wong, who owns Japon Bistro in Pasadena.

The fascinating nigori sakes are cloudy and rich with the sweetness of rice -- from the lees that are left in the brew or added back after filtration. Unpasteurized nigoris have varying degrees of carbonation from the live yeast remaining in the lees. One of the latest sakes of this sort, Poochi-Poochi, is a slightly fruity, effervescent sake that seems to be on the list of every izaka-ya, or Japanese style pub. Simple and fun, this light brew is more of a quaffing sake.

At the other end of the flavor spectrum, koshu, literally “old sake,” is full-bodied and mellow having been aged before being bottled. Eleven-year-old Yashiori no Sake from the Ishibashi brewery is aged eight years longer than most koshu. It’s rich and complex, strong enough to stand up to highly flavored foods like grilled yakitori, roast duck and even Parmesan cheese.

After a meal, some sake lovers prefer a glass of lush, sweet kijo-shu. An amber-colored, aged brew, it is made by substituting sake for half the water in the fermenting mash.

Like winemaking, sake brewing is continually evolving, particularly now that declining sales of common sake in Japan (although not that of jizakes) have inspired brewers to come up with more modern varieties.

In the end, a good menu can take you a long way when you’re choosing sake. At Japon Bistro, for example, each entry indicates the name of the sake and its style (junmai, honjozo) and then describes the sensory aspects and sometimes recommends food pairings.

Urukamu in Tarzana, Katana and Asia de Cuba in the Mondrian Hotel, both in West Hollywood, also do a nice job of describing and defining the sakes, although there are no food-pairing notes. That would be helpful, but it’s not absolutely necessary.

Because even if you haven’t gotten a handle on every sake term, it’s worth jumping right in. Every sip of sake is a delicious mystery waiting to be unraveled.

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How to read a sake label

Style categories

Daiginjo. Means “super premium” and refers to a meticulously brewed sake made from rice that has at least 50% of its exterior polished off to reveal the “pure” starchy heart.

Ginjo. Premium sake crafted from rice polished down to 60%.

Honjozo. Made from rice polished down to 70%, with brewer’s alcohol added to the mash. Drier than most other sakes. The added alcohol can make up only 25% of the total alcohol in the final brew.

Junmai. Sake to which no alcohol has been added, using rice polished so that 70% or less of the grain remains. Junmai tends to have more body and assertive flavors and less floral aroma than other styles.

Flavor categories

Kunshu. Primarily daiginjo and some ginjo. Delicate and light on the palate, aromatic and fruity with varying degrees of dryness in the finish. Good as an aperitif, with seafood and asparagus.

Sohshu. Light and smooth, a mix of junmai, honjozo and some ginjo. Moderately acidic with a light, clean aroma. Pairs well with sushi, seafood, chicken, tempura and light pastas.

Junshu. Primarily junmai, but occasionally honjozo. Has greater body and a bolder taste. Goes well with richer, creamy dishes, teriyaki, steaks and pate.

Jukshu. Aged. Complements hearty foods like barbecue, fried foods, spicy dishes, meat sauces.

Other types

Gen-shu. Potent 20% alcohol sake, with no water added after brewing.

Koshu. Literally “old sake.” Aged before bottling, it is full-bodied and mellow.

Kijo-shu. Amber-colored and aged, whose closest equivalent would be Port or Sauternes.

Nama-zake. Unpasteurized, raw or draft sake.

Nigori. Cloudy from sediments left in or returned to the brew; rich from the sweetness of rice.

Shizuku. Sake that has trickled through the bag filtering the fermented rice, drop by drop, without any of the usual pressing or squeezing.

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Where to sip them, where to buy them

These restaurants and cafes all serve at least 10 jizakes but many serve more than 50. Those marked with an asterisk also offer sake flights or samplers.

*Bistro Laramie, 18202 S. Western Ave., Gardena, (310) 532-6555.

Geisha House, 6633 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 460-6300.

Hama Hermosa Bamboo Sake Bar, 844 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach, (310) 374-7758.

Hamasaku, 11043 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 479-7636.

*Izakaya Sa Sa Ya, 11613 Santa Monica Blvd., (310) 477-4404. Full moon sake tasting.

*Katana, 8439 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 650-8585.

*Japonica, 1304 1/2 S. Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach, (310) 316-9477.

*Japon Bistro, 927 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 744-1751.

Kan-Izaka-Ya, 2755 Pacific Coast Highway, #A, Torrance, (310) 530-7888.

Mako, 225 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 288-8338.

Musha, 424 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 576 6330; 1725 Carson St., Torrance, (310) 787-7344.

*Tengu, 10845 Lindbrook Drive, Suite 100, Westwood, (310) 209-0071. Sake Sundays, half price on sake flights.

*Torafuku, 10914 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 470-0014. Flights; 10 junmai sakes.

Urukamu, 1956 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, (818) 609-0993.

White Lotus, 1743 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 463-0060.

Tastings

Mako, Sake pairing dinners.

Izakaya Sa Sa Ya, full moon tastings.

Tengu, Sake Sundays, half price.

Silverlake Wines, sake tastings (call for dates), 2395 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 662-9024.

Whole Foods Market, monthly sake sampling, 6350 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 964-6800.

Stores with good selection

Marukai Markets, (main branch) 1740 W. Artesia, Gardena, (310) 660-6300.

Mission Liquor, 1801 E. Washington, Pasadena, (626) 794 7026.

Silverlake Wines 2395 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 662-9024.

Wally’s, 2107 Westwood Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 475-0606.

Wine House, 2311 Cotner Ave., West Los Angeles, (310) 479-3731.

Twenty Twenty, 2020 Cotner Ave., West Los Angeles, (310) 447-2020.

Whole Foods Markets, various locations.

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Tasting through the sake styles

The Times tasting panel met last week to sample 14 sakes available in L.A. wine shops or restaurants, grouped according to style categories. On the panel were restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila, columnist Russ Parsons, deputy features editor Michalene Busico and contributor Patrick Comiskey. All bottles are 720 milliliters, unless stated otherwise.

Daiginjos

Mu, junmai daiginjo. From Yaegaki brewery in Hyogo prefecture, this sake offers arresting aromas of narcissus and licorice. Mouth-filling and velvety in texture, with an attractive funkiness, lots of layers and some richness. The finish is soft and long. Available at Nijiya Markets; about $23.

Hitori Musume, junmai daiginjo. This beautiful shizuku-type (“trickle”) sake is almost as clear as water, with floral and saline aromas. Pure, sophisticated and perfectly balanced, with flavors of celery, cucumber and passion fruit. Plush, rich, earthy and complex, with a long, chiseled, grand finish. Available at Silverlake Wine in Silver Lake, about $63.

Tamanohikari “Kaori Ginjo” Bouquet Elegant. This modern sake from Kyoto prefecture is made with “designer” yeast, with the American palate in mind. Assertive and a bit weighty, with floral aromas with a hint of petrol. On the palate, a pleasantly mushroomy quality. Available at Marukai; about $35 (750 ml.) or $15 (300 ml.).

Minowamon, junmai daiginjo. From the Daishichi brewery in Fukushima prefecture, this sake has aromas of tropical fruit, creamy pear and flowers. Deep, sweet and a little saline on the palate, though not particularly elegant. On the wine list at Enoteca Drago in Beverly Hills and Hama Hermosa Bamboo Sake Bar in Hermosa Beach; $85 at Enoteca (also sold retail, $69) and $100 at Hama.

Kakunko, junmai daiginjo. Powerful aroma of fermented honeydew with lime, “like a Japanese candy store version of fruit,” as one panelist put it. From Ibaraki prefecture, this sake is a middle heavyweight with a flannel-like texture, not terribly pleasant. On the wine list at Bistro Laramie in Gardena and Providence in Los Angeles; about $230; also available at Modern Marketing, www.sake.nu, about $153.

Wakatake “onikoroshi,” junmai daiginjo. Generous lychee nose, long and firm on the palate, with a velvety texture. Well-defined flavors of passion fruit, cantaloupe and lime leaf. “Onikoroshi” means “demon killer.” Available at Silverlake Wine, about $32.

Ken, daiginjo. From Suehiro brewery in Fukushima prefecture, this sake has a small amount of alcohol added for dryness. Faintly attractive aromas, pleasant enough, though without much complexity. Mouth-filling, with a vaguely oily texture. Available at Nijiya Markets; about $55.

Various junmai styles

Kurosawa junmai kimoto. This sake from Fukushima prefecture is a bit rustic and simple, dense and earthy, with yeasty aromas, pleasantly dry fruit and a floral note. Should work well with food. Available at Nijiya Markets; about $12 (500 ml.).

Taihei-zan kimoto junmai. Clear, pure, soft and long, with good fruit and a pleasantly sweet nose. Available at Silverlake Wine, about $25.

Chuomusubi, tokubetsu junmai. Made without charcoal filtration, with a 55% polish rate, this sake offers unusual aromas that reminded one panelist of “fresh cheese” and another of “weird bad candy.” Powerful and syrupy on the palate, with pear flavors. Available at Marukai in Gardena, about $23.

Katana, junmai ginjo. This sake from Shizuoka prefecture has smoky, meaty aromas. Long and savory. Available at Mitsuwa Marketplace; about $18.

Yashiorino, junmai koshu. The panel was divided on this 11-year-old sake from Ishibashi Shuzo brewery in Shimane prefecture. Some panelists found it “rich and well structured,” sophisticated, with a pleasant nose; others found it “cloying,” “cheesy” and “incredibly long and unpleasant.” Available at Wine House in Los Angeles, about $36 (500 ml.).

Other types

Yukino Matsushima, honjozo. From the Miyagi prefecture, a very dry alcohol-added sake with an alluring salt-air nose and nice fruit flavors touched with minerality. Tangy and almost green-tasting; pleasant and interesting. Would be great with Kobe-style beef. Available at Marukai and Mitsuwa Marketplace, about $23.

Kijoshyu Seiryo. While all the other sakes are very pale straw in color, this dessert sake from Ehime prefecture is a deep, golden honey hue. Distinctive aroma of pickled vegetables, then sweet and rich on the palate, with flavors of wheat, soy sauce and umami. Definitely an acquired taste. Available at Wine House; about $31 (500 ml.).

-- Linda Burum and Leslie Brenner