THE office gastronome spotted a dessert wine on my desk last week. “I don’t bother with puddings, so I don’t usually buy pudding wines,” he said, also making the observation that stickies tend to be rather expensive.

Well I think pudding wine is a misleading name. Not only do ‘pudding wines’ make an impressive aperitif but they can be a good match with savouries such as pâté and cheeses. The very foodstuffs where many other wines stumble.

I do take the point about price however. Coughing up good money for a half bottle doesn’t always sound like a sensible option. But actually, sweet wines are, to use a metaphor, quite specialist bits of kit and they are good value, when you consider the lengths taken to produce them.

Besides all this, a good sticky, with plenty of fresh acidity to balance with the sweetness, will make a dinner party a special occasion. I’ve picked out a few top-notch ones here to suit most pockets.

From Chile and great value for money, Concha y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2006 is a blitz of honeyed tropical fruit and orange marmalade, spiced with a little cinnamon.

Or if you prefer the Old World, then the Co-operative has Château Roumieu, Sauternes 2006, on offer until the end of the festive period. Although a little light, it has zesty, fresh, orange pith flavours, with apricot, honey and ginger.

De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon 2006 is a rung up the price ladder and is suitably rich and honeyed, with marmalade, mango, peach and a racy acidity.

My favourite of this bunch is from Tasmania. Tamar Bridge Kayena Vineyards Botrytis Riesling 2007 does a good job of tasting like a German sweet wine, a good quality one too, such as a beerenauslese. Intense honey aromas and sherbety citrus fruit, combine with flavours of peach, ginger and just the tiniest hint of kerosene, delivered with just the right counterbalance of acidity for the sweetness. I’d love to taste this one again in three or four years.

Then there’s the red sticky option. One of the most interesting I’ve come across is from Puglia, in Italy. A-Mano Aleatico Passito 2008 is made from the aleatico grape which is a member of the muscat family. It has some floral character and distinctive flavours of sour cherries and bitter dark chocolate. Not surprisingly, it works really well with dark chocolate desserts.

• Concha y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2006 (37.5cl), £5.99 at Oddbins, Majestic, Booths and Harrods 18/20

• Château Roumieu, Sauternes 2006 (37.5cl), £5.99 at the Co-operative until January 16/20

• De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon 2006 (37.5cl), from £14.99 at Majestic, Oddbins and Waitrose 17/20

• Tamar Bridge Kayena Vineyards Botrytis Riesling 2007 (37.5cl), £11.99 a bottle (case of six) Bon Coeur Fine Wines (bcfw.co.uk) 19/20

• A-Mano Aleatico Passito 2008 (50cl), £15.99 at Field and Fawcett 18/20