Probably we’re a few years past the time when this was a bold declaration, but I like sweet wines better than dry wines. I was trying to figure out why this is so–I do have a sweet tooth, but I like my savory food unsullied with sugar and have no problem with sour or bitter flavors. Then I realized it has everything to do with price.

Right now, I’m finishing up a great bottle of madeira. It’s the Rare Wine Company’s Boston Bual. The bottle was a gift, but for journalistic purposes I looked up the price, and it was probably about $45. This bottle brightened at least a dozen evenings, which makes it a great deal. This is another nice thing about fortified wines in particular: you can keep them around for weeks and they don’t go bad. I try to keep port and sherry on hand, too.

But you don’t need to spend anything like $45 to get a bottle of sweet wine that will make you tingle. A couple of years ago, when the great 2001 vintage was released, I got a bottle of German riesling auslese for $22 that knocked me on my ass–not in the way you’re thinking, since this is a low-alcohol wine.

Because dry wines are still the fashionable choice, sweet wines are comparatively underpriced. When was the last time you spent $20 for a dry wine and had it rock your world, oenologically speaking?

A great introduction to the world of sweet wines is James Peterson’s book, Sweet Wines.

Bartender: One Bonnezeaux, one Sauternes, one Okanagan Valley icewine, please. (Sweet wine drinkers always say please.)

While paying bills, you eat chocolate to take your mind off the bills. Then you lick the envelopes and get chocolate all over them.

I share this slice of life to take my mind off the fact that Red Line is closed.