ECLIPSE
is a sake that uses black koji to bring out higher levels of acidity like white wine compared to traditional sake. As a sake born in the wine state, California, this sake defines what it means to be an artisanal California sake.
KUROKOJI (BLACK KOJI)
Scientific name aspergillus Kawamori. Traditionally yellow koji (aspergillus oryzae) is used to brew sake and is what produces the sweetness with low acidity. Black koji is used traditionally in Japanese shochu, specifically awamori and high levels of citric acid is produced. We use our blend of black and yellow koji to achieve a sake that makes you think it’s wine at first, but finishes like sake.
JUNMAI DAIGINJO
Junmai translates to ‘pure rice’ meaning the alcohol was produced by fermentation of the rice only with no added distilled alcohol. We used 50% polished premium calrose rice (which indicates daiginjo style) for the best balance of fruity and fresh rice aromas.
SHIBORITATE
Shiboritate means ‘freshly pressed.’ Most sake in the market are matured for several months to allow the sake to settle, but we believe sake that’s freshly out of the tank is some of the best sake. This style of sake is very delicate and highly sensitive to heat, UV light and agitation so once pressed in cold room, goes straight to bottling in the cold room. Due to it’s sensitivity, this style is hardly imported from Japan.
MUROKA
Muroka means the sake does NOT go through charcoal filtration. Charcoal filtration is a step to further clean up the sake after pressing to give it a white-clear look. We believe this process takes away flavors and the liveliness of the sake and we do prefer a slight natural tinge of gold.
NAMA
Nama directly translates to ‘raw’ or ‘fresh’ and indicates sake that are not pasteurized. Most sake are heat pasteurized for stability and long shelf-life, but we believe this also takes away flavors and the true characters of sake. In Japan, people wait every year for the brewing season to start to get their hands on freshly made and unpasteurized shiboritate nama sake. We brew every month to make sure our sake is always fresh.
ACIDITY & SMV
We intended this sake to have a white wine-like expression which is why we used black koji to bring out higher levels of acidity (4.0) and to balance out the acidity, sweetness is also increased at SMV (sake meter value) -10.0.
ARTWORK
For the label design of this sake, our artist depicts the phenomena known as solar eclipse as viewed from the earth. The sun indicates the yellow koji which is traditionally used for making sake, and the moon indicates the black koji that’s covering up the sun to indicate its shadowing of character in this sake.