“Irasshaimase!” the sushi chefs shout in welcome as you strut through any of the trendy Japanese restaurant of the moment. Once seated, you rattle off an impressive litany of your favorite raw fish compositions to the waiter, obviously impressing your date with such worldly sophistication.

“Oh, and two Kirin beers,” you add.

“Actually, I’ve always wanted to try sake,” your companion says, caressing your thigh and smilingly suggestively.

Sake? It’s not a dirty word, so don’t panic. Yes, the list, with foreign headings like Ginjo-Shu and Junmai-Daiginjo-Shu, seems impossible to understand. But with the right help, your date won’t walk out in a your-so-provincial huff while you’re still munching on the edamame.

Many top Japanese restaurants in the city now have a sommelier to help guests choose a sake that fits their taste and price range. Today, the hottest trend is “seasonal sake.” Since this buzz-worthy beverage isn’t aged like wine, the freshest sake of the season is rushed from Japan to prime NYC restaurants and eagerly consumed by a quick-growing number of aficionados. With any luck, you can soon count yourself amongst them.

Vanessa Treviño Boyd, Corporate Wine & Spirits Director at the two MEGU restaurants in Manhattan, suggests that discreetly pointing at a sake within your price range and asking the sommelier for a description. “A good Sommelier will begin by gently asking guests questions to better guide them,” she adds, “I like to ask guests if they would like a steady progression of sake, starting from a lighter, more aromatic sake as an aperitif, and continuing on to richer, more textured sake for heartier dishes.” If you’re still a sake virgin, intimidated by the full $30 glasses, you might want to consider ordering a basic flight of Daiginjo, which will showcase a diverse range of traditionally fuller-bodied flavors.

What differentiates one sake from another and explains oft-dramatic price differences is its grade, which reflects how much of the rice has been milled from the grain—the more the rice has been milled, the cleaner, lighter and more delicate the flavor. The three primary grades of special designation sake are brewed using special sake rice, water and koji mold, which breaks down the starch molecules into sugar molecules that feed the yeast cells, including Honjozo-shu, Ginjo-shu and Daiginjo-shu.

Should you fall in love with sake and desire to learn more about it, you’re in luck. Both MEGU restaurant locations offer sake and food pairing dinners, and Morrell Wine & Company offers a guided sake-tasting seminar. If you still feel the need to practice before that big date, try The New York Sake Meetup Group on Meetup.com—who knows, you might find someone just waiting for you to impress them with your exotic expertise.

MEGU

62 Thomas St.(betw. W. B’way & Church St.)

212-964-7777

MEGU Midtown at Trump World Tower

845 First Ave./United Nations Plaza (betw. 47th & 48th Sts.)

212-964-7777

Morrell Wine & Company

1 Rockefeller Plaza (betw. 48th & 49th Sts.)

212-688-9370