I love wine and I love food.  I’m definitely not a connoisseur when it comes to wine, and I rely heavily on a good wine store, or store within a store like Formaggio Kitchen and Hi Rise Bakery, or a good sommelier.

The best way to get to know wine is to try several in sequence so you can compare and contrast.  You can figure out what you love and what you hate, learn the stories behind the vineyard, the vintner, and the wine itself, and start to build a wine repertoire.  The Boston Wine Festival begins the daafter Valentine’s Day.

Although there is nothing wrong with being single and there are some wonderful benefits of the solo life, like wine without food, when you pair the right two together, there can be magic.

Saturday, February 15th as part of the Boston Wine Expo Executive Chef Nathan Gould, of Martha’s Vineyard’s Harbor View Hotel will be doing a 1:30 demo showcasing smoke and oyster brine pickles, sea urchin aioli and corals and crisp honeysuckle oyster.

Chef Ming Tsai will be sharing his wisdom about food and wine pairings.  Even if you can’t be there in person, Chef Tsai will be taking questions and participating in an online chat on Boston.com tomorrow, Thursday, February 13th at 1 p.m. (http://www.boston.com/thingstodo/gotoit/2014/02/chat_chef_ming.html)

The full schedule of chef demos can be found on Boston.com (for some reason there was no clear listing on the Boston Wine Expo site itself).  Chefs participating include: Chris Coombs of Boston Cops, Deuxave and dBar, Michael Schlow of Alta Strada, Via Matta, and TICO, Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger and Blue Dragon, Barbara Lynch of No. 9 Park, Menton and Sportello, Nathan Gould of the Harbor View Hotel, Josh Ziskin of La Morra, Stephen Oxall of B & G Oysters, Brian Emmett winner of the American Baking Competition, Brian Poe of The Tip Tap Room, Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake and Estelle’s, Jody Adams of Rialto and Trade, Daniel Bruce of the Boston Harbor Hotel, Mark Allen of Towne Stove and Spirits, Mary Ann Esposito host of Ciao Italia, Tony Messina of Uni Sashimi Bar, Louis DiBiccari of Tavern Road, Michael Leviton of Lumière, Area Four and A4 Pizza

The Boston Wine Expo celebrates wine, food and culture at the Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center in Boston on February 15th and 16th tickets range from $185 for the Vitner’s Lounge experience to about $25-45 for individual seminars. Doors open at 11:00 for Trade folks and 1:00 for General Attendees.  The festival’s Beneficiary this year is the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center’s Summer Camp Program for Children with Disabilities.