When I lived in Seattle, I learned to make the most of the summer: it arrives late, disappears too quickly and inspires otherwise sensible adults to treat 72 degrees as a civic holiday. But did you know that sake changes outfits for the season too? Store shelves sprout blue glass, green labels, waves, dragonflies, goldfish and fireworks. These bottles are natsu-zake, summer sake, and the first thing to know is that nobody can tell you exactly what that means.
New to sake? That’s perfect, let me tell you what it is and what it isn’t. Sake starts with rice, water, kōji and yeast. It is fermented, not distilled, and generally gluten-free. Sake is built like beer and enjoyed like wine. Just like wine, you can serve it in a glass to enjoy the aroma, clarity, and texture. It is very food-friendly and goes great with a backyard grill session!
Seattle’s summers are a lot hotter now than when I moved to Washington in 1997, but Japan’s have long been hot and humid. Natsu-zake meets the weight of that heat with lighter, brighter or simply cold-friendly choices making it a great addition to Seattle’s new normal.
Natsu-zake isn’t a legal definition of sake and it’s a relatively young marketing category that emerged around 2005 to 2007. There’s no formal definition of what makes natsu-zake, but brewers and consumers have shaped the category to include:
● Lower in alcohol (ABV), bright with acidity and deliberately easy to drink
● Crisp, dry and relatively restrained
● Aromatic, fresh or lightly effervescent
● Surprisingly muscular, with an ABV of 17% or higher, intended to be served very cold, over ice.
● A special unpasteurized (nama) release just for summer (harder to find)
A note on ABV or Alcohol by Volume: sake isn’t distilled and can range from 8% or lower up to 20%. For natsu-zake that range is still apparent but there is a visible trend toward lighter releases with lower ABVs. High ABVs of >17% also make a great summer choice when you drink them cold, “rocks” (over ice), or with a splash of soda water.
So, natsu-zake is less like a grape variety and more like a summer playlist. The songs don’t all sound alike, the brewers simply believe that these sake, like summer hits, belong together when the windows are open and you’re letting the summer breeze blow through.
Natsu-zake is often dressed in blue and green. Blue suggests water, sky, glass, ice and visual coolness while green suggests shade, young leaves and seasonal vitality. These are the colors of summer and dominate the labels. Think of natsu-zake as prompting you to: “chill me, take me outside and imagine that you can hear a wind chime.” Is it marketing? Oh yeah, for sure, but it is still communicating something useful: “this sake is celebrating summer.”
Storage note: The beautiful blue and clear bottles don’t make sake immune to light. Sake is light-sensitive and should be kept cool and dark. Many open bottles can be stoppered, refrigerated and enjoyed over the next couple of weeks; sparkling and nama are generally best sooner.
Shopping for sake can be overwhelming, but you have the support of an amazing sake culture in Seattle. To help you, here are some things you can look for on labels to find something fun for this summer:
● Natsu and “summer” – the Japanese word Natsu means summer and any mention of the “summer” in the name is a great starting place. Look for blue/green labels and iconography that suggests summer.
● Honjōzō – this style of sake has been built for lift and lightness: lifted aromas and lightness of palate. They tend toward subtle or light aromas with lighter palate presence and are great with grilled veggies, meats, and tofu.
● Sparkling – Many sparkling sakes sit toward the lower end of the alcohol range, although not all do. They range from gently sweet and soft fizzy to dry, complex and fully bottle-fermented. Bubble, brightness and cold service make them a natural summer choice.
● Check the ABV – lower ABVs are below 14% and they are showing up across the sake-scape making them easier to drink when it’s hot outside. Don’t overlook higher ABV (>17% ABV) sake, just drink them cold over “rocks” (over a big chunk of ice) and enjoy the change in texture, aroma/flavor, and taste as the ice slowly melts and the sun slowly sets.
There are amazing places for you to go for local sake advice: Sake Noire opened its permanent Hillman City location this month; Hannyatou has a lovely outdoor patio and a broad selection of sake; Johnnie at Sake Nomi has long helped Seattle drinkers navigate its remarkably broad retail selection. These are just a few of the great places you can go to experience natsu-zake in Seattle and meet other sake-curious types to share experiences with. Kanpai!
Russell King is the sake educator, consultant and writer behind Deep Dive Sake School. A recovering Microsoft engineer and Master Sake Sommelier, he likes taking sake seriously without making drinking it feel like homework.
