With so many different types of sweet wines - ranging from the fresh and fruity to the syrupy and sticky - how do you choose the right wine for the moment?

The fresher, sweet styles are made from grapes that have been left on the vine for longer to ripen to higher sugar levels. You're probably familiar with the word spatlese on such wines. It's German for 'late-harvested'. These wines are as sweet as really ripe, fresh fruit and go well with something like a juicy peach.

If the grapes are left on the vine for a little longer, they can be infected by a kind of mould called botrytis, or 'noble rot', which shrivels the berries and makes much sweeter, more luscious wine. The two most common grapes to be made in this way are riesling and semillon. Botrytis-affected riesling tends to be very sweet but zesty, and goes really well with citrus desserts like lemon tart. Botrytis semillon is richer, softer and fuller-flavoured, and a great match for desserts like creme brulee.

The sweetest wines of all, though, are the fortifieds - muscat, tokay and port - with the word 'liqueur' on the label. Even though it's an old-fashioned word being phased out by winemakers, you'll still see it on many bottles. They're delicious with chocolate cake.

Source:Better Homes and Gardens may 2004