By Luigi Alberganti, as told to Michael Kaplan

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As the sommelier of Shibuya, a mind-blowingly good Japanese restaurant at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Luigi Alberganti lords over 110 different bottles of sake. He is the go-to guy for anyone who needs to know what rice wine selection will mesh with anything from toro to teppanyake. Playboy.com asked Alberganti for the lowdown on whether to serve sake hot or cold, how to find a favorite style and what sake goes best with different meals.

"Ninety-seven percent of premium sakes should be served slightly chilled," Alberganti says. "That's how you bring out the floral and fruity flavors you find in the varietals that are known as Junmai, Ginjo and Daiginjo. Those are all of good quality, and heating any of them up would be the equivalent of a warming a fine chardonnay."

"Two types of sake -- Kimoto and Yamahi -- are earthier and gamier than the others. They have higher acidity and, by all means, you should drink them warm. But remember not to make the sake piping hot. Microwave it for about a minute and that will be perfect for reducing some of the acidity."

"The heavier the food, the heavier the sake should be. For sushi with soy sauce, you want sake from Niigata. You want a full-bodied sake if you are having Kobe beef, and for that you should choose a Junmai. In Japan, I had salad with Gorgonzola and bleu cheese. It was paired with a sake called Narutotai, which had a slightly sweet aftertaste. That goes great with pizza as well."

"Sake remains fresh, in an opened bottle, for quite a long time. You screw the top back on, refrigerate it, and it stays good for a few weeks. This is part of the reason why sake sommeliers should be happy to give you a small taste before you order. The bottles are already open, so it's really no big deal."

"We have a sake cocktail made with shaved ice and yuzu [a type of lemon from Japan], but I don't think it's such a great idea to mix anything with sake. So much love and work go into the making of each bottle of sake that it's a shame to alter it. If you want a cocktail, order sochu, a Japanese liquor [distilled from barley or sweet potato or rice]. It's great on the rocks, but you can treat it just like a vodka as far as mixers go."

"When drinking sake, the proper etiquette is that everybody at the table pours for each other and nobody pours for themselves. This is a great custom and it's one reason why people often drink sake out of shallow glasses -- it's so you can pour without having to stand up. Also: Don't drink it back in a single shot. Instead, you should look at it, feel it in your mouth, savor the flavor and experiment with various food combinations. And, unlike with wine, sake does not need to breathe or be decanted."

"A lot of restaurants serve sake in cedar boxes. This looks nice, but it doesn't help the sake. The box winds up imparting a very strong flavor to the sake. You don't want this. At Shibuya, I like to serve sake in Riesling glasses. Rieslings are aromatic grapes, and these glasses [with extended rims] allow you to capture all the flavors of whatever sake you are drinking."

"In terms of their flavors, sake and wine have a lot of parallels. If you like sauvignon blanc, which is crisp and light and refreshing, try a Niigata sake. If you like chardonnay, which is buttery and has more body, look for offerings from the Akita prefecture. And if cabernet sauvignon is your thing, go for one from Hyogo prefecture. That's one of the more masculine and heavy-tasting sakes."

"Avoid drinking anything called Futsuushu. It comes in a box, and this is the stuff that they serve hot in a lot of local Japanese restaurants. But it isn't even sake. It's not made from high quality rice, and it is cut with alcohol in order to elevate the flavor. Plus, it's probably got sugar in it. People drink it and think that they get hangovers from sake. But, in truth, they weren't even drinking sake."

"My number one preferred sake is called Sato No Homare. It is super easy to drink, complex and soft. We sell it here at Shibuya and it goes for $250 per bottle. So, yes, I have expensive taste. But, hey, if I asked you to name your favorite car, you wouldn't tell me that it's a Toyota Corolla."

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