On Valentines, many have love –and chocolate – on the brain. With its rich sensuality, chocolate often offers a perfect way to end a romantic meal. However, given its powerful, rich and velvety qualities, finding its perfect mate in a wine can be challenging. Wine Director Marian Jansen op de Haar of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar offers these quick and easy tips on selecting the right vino to pair with a decadently chocolate dessert:

The wine has to be sweeter than the dessert, otherwise your wine will taste bitter, flat or stripped of fruit flavors (the flavors we like most in wine). The Fonseca Reserve Porto Bin 27 NV is a good choice for those preparing the meal themselves. It is a delightfully sweet Port bursting with ripe berry and cocoa flavors. Additionally, use the Port in dessert preparation – whether to flavor the chocolate or as a base for a sauce – and then serve a glass with the final creation. It will bring all the spectacular flavors together.

Make the chocolate love connection with rich wines. Chocolate needs a powerful and sweet dessert wine such as Port, a tried and true accompaniment to dessert. Go for the ultimate splurge to make your chocolate dessert shine with a great vintage Port such as Dow’s 1991, just make sure that it’s at least 10 years old. Ports are best served around 60-65F in small, stemmed glasses.

Go for wine with character! One such favorite has a name that can’t be beat – Liquid Love, the 2001 Late Harvest Zinfandel from Tobin James. The zinfandel grapes are left to hang on the vine until ultra ripe, concentrating the natural sugars. The result is a wine with rich berry aromas and a hint of spiciness that is a wonderful complement to chocolate.