Sweet sensations.

What could satisfy the palate more than a clear wine in a rainbow of yellows, offering an intriguing sweetness balanced with a tangy acidity? And what could be a more scintillating way to celebrate a special occasion than a bottle of sweet wine tucked under the arm with those roses for a special someone?

Sweet wines are a great substitute for dessert and offer an alternative to other after-dinner drinks. They vary in texture, from light and silky to honey-like with the aroma of flowers and the taste of peaches.

Sweet wines get that way by two means. As a grape ripens, it develops more sugar. It is the sugar that ferments into half alcohol and half carbon dioxide, which normally escapes. One way to make sweet wine is to stop fermentation after a short time by adding a little brandy. This raises the alcohol to a level that kills the yeast, leaving unfermented sugar, which results in a sweet wine. The other method is via a "good" mold - called the Noble Rot - that naturally attacks the grape near harvest time. It slowly extracts some of the juice, leaving the sugar content far more concentrated.

The process sounds simple, but there are only a few places where all the elements come together: Sauternes and parts of the Loire Valley in France, Germany and Austria, Hungary and, in this country, California.

France's Sauternes region offers some of the richest sweet wines. Chateau d'Yquem sells for well over $100 for a standard bottle. Other rich Sauternes are a bit more affordable. They include Chiteau Climens ($65), Chateau La Tour Blanche ($55), Chateau Rieussec ($60) and Chateau Coutet ($45). From the Loire Valley, look for the sweet versions of Vouvray (those labeled moelleux) and Savennieres, which average $12 to $15, and Coteaux du Layon ($20).

Germany counts its sweet wines as its best wines. The degree of sweetness can be judged in ascending amounts of sugar by one of four terms: spatlese, auslese, beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese - the last two of which are honey - like and almost syrupy.

Austria uses these same terms, along with ausbruch to describe a wine between beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese. Both Austria and Germany have another term - eiswein - which means "ice wine" and is literally wine from grapes left on the vine so long they were covered with ice when harvested.

Tokay is Hungary's sweet wine and one of the world's greatest: The Hungarians count the degree of sweetness by puttonyos - the more, the sweeter.

California sweet wines include Joseph Phelps Vineyards Late Harvest Riesling ($10), Freemark Abbey Edelwein Gold ($25), Chateau St. Jean-Johannisberg Riesling Selected Late Harvest, Russian River ($15) and Semillon d'Or Selected Late Harvest ($19).

Admittedly, it can be hard to pair intense sweet with sweet. But a platter of cookies, a cake without frosting or other semi-sweet dish can be a perfect backdrop for sweet wine. Or, enjoy sweet wine all by itself.