This Valentine's Day, try something a little different than the usual bubbly. For something more adventurous and elegant, I'd recommend sake. The days of choking down hot sake are long gone. The quality level has jumped in recent years, and the better sakes are now served chilled, like white wine. There is a wide variety of sakes to fit every taste and budget. They are very refreshing and some make great aperitifs while others are fantastic for pairing with appetizers and fish dishes.

Sake production dates back to the third century in Japan, but it is believed that sake was brewed as early as 4800 B.C. in China. It is now produced in Japan, Oregon, California and Australia. Though often mislabeled rice wine, sake is brewed and is therefore more closely related to beer. Although the flavors can be very complex and styles vary, it is simply a mixture of rice, rice koji and water. Many types of rice are used, but the Yamada Nishiki variety is the most common. Sake contains up to 80 percent water, so the water used is a very crucial part of sake production. Each sake prefecture or region has its own unique water source that adds to the character of sake they produce.

The process of making sake is very technical and depends greatly on the experience and knowledge of the brew-master. It starts with polishing the rice; sometimes more than 50 percent of the rice is polished away. The rice is then washed, soaked and steamed. The steamed rice is mixed with spores of the fungi aspergillus oryzae and left in a warm, humid room for up to 45 hours to produce the rice koji. The fungi spores produce enzymes that break down the rice starch and turn the starch into sugars, which can be turned into alcohol by the addition of yeast cells. At the later stages of koji production, more steamed rice is added, along with yeast and water. The fermentation begins, and sugars are converted to alcohol at the same time that the remaining rice starch is converted to sugar.

The mash is then pressed in one of several ways. A common way is canvas bags are filled with the mash, and the liquid pressed through the canvas or allowed to drip through the canvas on its own. After the pressing, the sake is then passed through a charcoal filter, then pasteurized. Pasteurization kills off bacteria and deactivates certain enzymes, stabilizing the sake. The sake is then aged from six months to one year before being sold.

FOUR BASIC TYPES

The four basic types of sake are junmai-shu, honjozo-shu, ginjo-shu and daiginjo-shu, although there are other types produced through other brewing techniques.

Junmaishu is sake that is produced without the addition of distilled alcohol; honjozoshu has the addition of distilled alcohol; ginjoshu is produced using highly polished rice with or without the addition of distilled alcohol; and daiginjoshu is produced using even more highly polished rice with or without the addition of distilled alcohol.

An important term to know when talking about sake is "semai buai." It refers to the amount milled away during the polishing of the rice, or more accurately, the amount remaining after the polishing of the rice. For example, junmaishu must be made with rice with a semai buai of 70 percent (meaning 30 percent of the rice has been milled away), while ginjoshu must have a semai buai of 60 percent (meaning 40 percent milled away), and daiginjoshu and junmai daiginjo must have a semai buai of 50 percent (meaning 50 percent milled away).

Generally speaking, the more rice that is milled away, the cleaner and purer the flavor of the sake will be. The inverse is also true: The less rice milled away, the more aromatics and flavors the sake will have. It is said that sake contains more than 400 congeners, or flavor agents, and experienced tasters can name more than 90 different descriptors for the aroma of sake. Some common descriptors for sake aromas are apple, banana, melon, herbs and floral notes.

ONES TO TRY

If you're a beginning sake drinker, I recommend a Kamoizumi Komekome "Happy Bride" sake. It is a specialty sake and is like the riesling of sake with ripe fruit and citrus flavors, a hint of sweetness, and low alcohol — a very pleasant introduction that sells for around $20.

Another is a Dewazakura Dewasansan "Green Ridge" sake. Dewasansan is the rice used in this sake, a junmai ginjo, and it is more grassy and herbaceous in style with a little more body, and retails for around $29 per bottle.

And finally, from Ginga Shizuku, "Divine Droplets," a junmai daiginjo which is earthy, fruity and complex with hints of lemon and a long lingering finish. It sells for $60 per bottle.

Todd Ashline is the sommelier at Chef Mavro restaurant; www.chefmavro.com. Raise a Glass, written by a rotating panel of beverage professionals, appears here every other Wednesday.