New to wine, seeking recommendations Would you please indulge a wine novice for a few moments? I've quickly found out that saying you like "sweet" wines sends up red flags among lots of wine connosieurs. But whether my current preference is a sign of an undeveloped palate or just a lack of good taste, that's what I prefer at this point in my very young wine-drinking career. And I'd like some recommendations from those more experienced in this area. Basically, I'm looking for a satisfying everyday drink -- something I'll probably use as a nightcap. Since "sweet" means different things to different people, let me try to give you the best description I can of what I mean, based on some of the wines I've tried so far. +Chaucer's Mead -- not technically a wine, I suppose, but this is what got me interested in exploring actual grape wines. I loved the satisfying sweetness of the honey and the rich, full flavor. +Semi-dry Riesling (sorry, I don't have brand names for some of these available) -- The body was a little too light and delicate for me, though the sweetness level was adequate. +Gewurztraminer -- Had a nice, spicy zing to it and a decent level of sweetness. +Vintage port and LBV port -- The vintage was ca. 1995, I think. Yes, sacrilege, I know, for drinking it too early, but aside from the mead, these are the two most satisfying wines I've tasted yet. A nice, full body, delightfully fruity, complex, and almost perfectly sweet (for me). +Vintage character port -- I can't remember the maker of this one, but it seemed almost as if the bottlers tried TOO hard to make this taste like a vintage. I'm not pretending to be sophisticated enough to know whether this was the case; all I know is that while the sweetness and fruitiness were there, there was also an almost overpowering spiciness that detracted from my enjoyment of any of the underlying flavors. +Malmsey and Bual Madeira -- Both were Blandy's 5-Year varieties. Decent level of sweetness. The Malmsey, though, was almost overwhelmingly powerful -- an buttault on my taste buds! And I didn't care for the sour undertones. Bual struck me as a little more palatable, but not something I'd want to enjoy as a daily drink. Is it worth trying the Verdelho or Rainwater varieties, and how do they compare with Malmsey and Bual? +Bristol Cream Sherry -- I was really unimpressed with this. In short, I just found it nasty, like a Madeira without any of the complexity. +Valdespino Pedro Ximenez "The Cream of Cream Sherry" -- Blah! Treacly, syrupy. Like candy in a bottle. WAY too sweet. +Some half-bottle of Australian Tokay, can't remember the maker -- Again, too syrupy. +A half-bottle of Sauternes, can't remember the maker -- Reminded me a lot of mead, with a distinct honey-like flavor. I enjoyed this one, except for the strong, almost truffle-like aftertaste. +Dow's tawny port -- No indicaton of average age, and it looked more reddish than tawny. I'm not sure what I got here, but I wasn't overly impressed. A little drier than the vintage and LBV ports I've had, and not much in the way of complexity. +Ruby port -- can't remember the maker. Not bad, but I think I was spoiled by having tried the vintage and LBV first. Not as full-bodied or complex, but pleasantly fruity and sweet. So, based on this information, what else is out there that I might enjoy? I've heard good things about some of the sweet German wines and am thinking about heading in that direction next. What about ice wines? Thanks, everybody! Adrian 
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