February 14^th is fast approaching, which means just one thing: Ready or not, here comes romance. With so much uncertainty surrounding this intrepid topic, it’s nice to know there’s one fundamental love law you can bet your heart on: Nothing says amore like a great glass of wine. Spirits are too blunt, and beer is all about bromance. With that said, you’ve got just enough time to hightail it over to the world’s largest love potion emporium: Woodinville Wine Country.

This year your love life is really in luck. Since Valentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday, you’ve got the whole weekend just prior to sample and stock up on delicious reds and whites to help set the mood. Wineries and tasting rooms all over Woodinville are making it easy with tasting and chocolate pairing events going on throughout February 11^th and 12^th. Click here for a complete listing. It’s thankless, punishing work trying to find that perfect combination of wine and chocolate to ignite love, but the future of our species may be riding on it.

Frankly, we couldn’t wait that long to play flavor matchmaker so, with our palates all hot and bothered, we approached one of the Northwest’s foremost chocolate authorities, Jean Thompson of Seattle Chocolates, for advice on how to mate two of our favorite tastes. She pointed out how the sweetness level of the chocolate should match that of the wine, so dark chocolates tend to pair best with red wines while milk chocolate may go better with whites. We found Seattle Chocolates’ exquisite jcoco collection to be a great place to start doing wine/chocolate research. You heard us, RESEARCH.

Whether your search is for romance or Riesling, you’ll find plenty to be passionate about in Woodinville this month. Lots of love!