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Nothing triggers my imagination more than travel, particularly where wine is part of the destination. Since the beginning of the year, two journeys spurred new visions of wine for the dinner table and the celebration of love on Valentine’s Day. I believe the entire month of February, with the 14^th literally the epicenter, should be devoted to honoring romantic love.

The first adventure was at Yonah Mountain Vineyards, a winery deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia where a panel of judges rated Yonah’s exceptional wines in a head-on competition with some Napa giants. The wines of this Georgia producer fared quite well, but it was the dinner afterward at Bernie’s, a remarkable gourmet restaurant, where the fun really began. Here, love manifested with every glass of Yonah’s wine poured: each sip and bite blended the senses with friendship, family and everlasting love.

The second journey was my visit Paula Deen, the ebullient Food Network superstar, a very nice lady I always describe as “The First Lady of Southern Cooking.” Ms. Deen, joined by what seemed to be her entire family, cut the blue ribbon for her latest restaurant, Paula Deen’s Kitchen located inside Harrah’s Cherokee, a  $620 million dollar luxury facility. I was onstage with her while she prepared filet mignon with a mushroom and Jack Daniels sauce while entertaining some 3,000 adoring fans with good-natured humor.

Dinner became an affirmation that wine is the magic component in the dining experience and when you celebrate love, good wine is de reguer. One of the many memorable dishes on Ms. Deen’s restaurant menu is her iceberg lettuce wedge salad with, bacon, blue cheese and other ingredients that simple begs for a glass of Champagne or a domestic sparkling wine like Chandon Blanc Noir.

For Valentine’s dinner, there are many romantic places featuring outstanding wine and fine dining served with lots of love. David and Gayle Daurgh’s heralded Beechwood Inn, near the North Carolina-Georgia border, has an annual Valentine’s weekend with a regal lineup honoring love while pairing wine and gourmet food.

Valentine’s Day remains that gentle ritual where everything seems delicious. Tradition strongly suggests red roses, chocolates, candlelit dining, and a card with a personal proclamation of love. Wine completes the experience, but not just any wine! Nothing falls flatter that the wrong wine for this occasion. There is an old French Proverb that says, "The best use of bad wine is to drive away poor relations."