These dessert wines do come with a few rules, but when followed, their sweetness can end a meal on quite a high note, experts say -and much unlike the lower-quality sweet wines perceived in the '60s and '70s, said Frank Stitt, owner and executive chef for Bottega, Highlands Bar and Grill, and Chez Fon Fon.

"Some of the greatest, most complex wines are indeed sweet wines," Stitt said. He said after he suggests a dessert wine, guests will return and ask for it or venture to find it.

"There is this misconception that sweet wines are not cool," Stitt said. "(It's) just a few ounces, but it makes such a delightful closure to the meal."

Foster Smith gave the "dessert wine for dummies" explanation for getting started. He's restaurant division sales manager for International Wines Inc., in Homewood, a wine wholesale company that sells a couple of hundred cases of dessert wine each year.

His simple Kool-Aid test elaborates: Sip Kool-Aid, which tastes really sweet. Swallow it, and note if the sweet taste still remains.

"A balanced dessert wine will taste really sweet, but then finish with an acidity, a crispness," he said. "You just have to learn how to drink them."

Two wines that do well at Stitt's restaurants are Moscato, which Stitt described as light with an aroma of white flowers and refreshing acidity, and Muscat Beaumes de Venice. This second wine, from the south of France, features a honeyed orange blossom aroma. It works well with apricot and almond desserts, Stitt said.

At Amphora Wine Merchants, James Blumentritt said dessert-wine demand is up in several varieties.

"We see a lot of people going for the lighter style, Moscato d'Asti," Blumentritt said, describing a white wine.

He said wines such as the Moscato are likewise easy to drink.

"Dessert wines are a good way to get people interested in more ... diverse wines," Blumentritt said. "A lot of people ... are looking for something that is sweet. They don't want something like a white zinfandel."

A few dessert-wine tips to note:

- These wines, because of their high sugar content, can be aged for many years because the sugar acts a preservative. But they do not have to be aged as such, Blumentritt said.

- This wine should complement a dessert, not overpower it or fizzle beside it. It doesn't work with chocolate, a difficult match, Ware said.

- These wines will work for a first course, too, such as foie gras (pate of goose liver), or paired with some blue cheeses, Stitt said.

- Dessert wines can be served alone. Regardless of pairings, they should be served cool, Blumentritt said.

- Just as port gets its own glass, so do dessert wines. Dessert-wine glasses feature a smallish, wide-centered bowl on a long stem. (And can give the shopping-savvy a reason to cruise through home stores in search of the perfect set.)

- Dessert wines are served in small doses, Stitt said.

"It's a good way to end a meal because it acts as a liqueur -helps settle the stomach and aids in digestion," Blumentritt said.

"Once you get people to try them ... with the proper food, it really is an eye-opening experience," Smith said.