Colors Ecru For Akita
⏳ Drinking Window
Best enjoyed fresh within 1–2 years of release, though it can be cellared under strict sub-zero refrigeration for up to 3 years.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
fresh oysters, white fish sashimi, grilled chicken yakitori
✨ Technical Specifications
Aramasa's Colors series is a vibrant showcase of Akita's local agricultural heritage, with Ecru representing the beautiful simplicity of the region's signature sake rice, Sake Komachi. Brewed using the traditional Kimoto starter method in cedar casks (kioke) and fermented exclusively with the legendary Kyokai No. 6 yeast—which was originally isolated on-site at Aramasa in 1930—this sake is a masterclass in modern, low-intervention brewing. The name Ecru evokes the natural, unbleached color of raw silk, mirroring the sake's pure, unadorned, and elegant character. It delivers a striking balance of bright lactic acidity, delicate stone fruit sweetness, and a pristine mineral finish that beautifully bridges the worlds of traditional sake and fine white wine.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1852 by Uhei Sato in Akita Prefecture, Aramasa Shuzo stands as one of Japan's most revolutionary and revered artisanal producers. The brewery earned historic distinction in 1930 when its in-house culture was isolated as Kyokai No. 6, the oldest surviving yeast strain in active distribution. Under eighth-generation kuramoto Yusuke Sato, who took over in the late 2000s, Aramasa embarked on an uncompromising renaissance. Sato committed strictly to pure Junmai brewing, utilizing exclusively local Akita-grown rice cultivated without chemical pesticides, including over 30 hectares farmed in the Uyashinai district. Reviving traditional Edo-period techniques, all fermentations rely purely on indigenous lactic bacteria via the kimoto method and take place entirely in wooden cedar vats (kioke). Fermented using only pristine soft local mountain water and Kyokai No. 6, Aramasa's sakes—such as the iconic unpasteurized No. 6 series, the terroir-driven Colors collection, and the experimental Private Lab bottlings like Amaneko—are globally benchmarked for their electrifying acidity, pristine structural tension, and vinous elegance.
🍇 Grapes
Sake Komachi
🍷 ABV
12-13%