I don’t know how many times I’ve heard how badly it sucks to date in Los Angeles. Believe me, I already know. I was there once, too. I did online dating, friend setups, speed dating and even forced myself to go out during those alcoholidays in the hopes of meeting that special, albeit drunk, someone. Blech! And now I have several friends who are doing Match and eharmony to limited success…ok, to no success. What’s a singleton to do?

Fortunately, L.A. dating site/city guide, The Lek, has regular events for its nightlife-savvy singles. No sleazy bar scene here. Just fun folks who are as into exploring the city as you are.

The Lek’s upcoming event is a wine tasting at BottleRock in Culver City. For $25 you get 12 samplings of premium “Twins” (same varietal but different countries). And to make things really interesting (and get you to step out of your comfortable bubble), you can participate in a blind tasting contest where the top three teams will get BottleRock prizes!

Signing up on the site is easy. No stupid long-ass questionnaire to fill out. Just input your stats, post a photo of yourself and then do a search by your favorite hangouts. You’ll be able to see who else goes there and maybe schedule a premeditated run-in with that certain cutie.

From Thrillist:

Simply click ‘find matches based on my favorite LEKs’ to get a list of profiles also containing your choices, or widen your net by searching for your soulmate under broader locale categories, from ‘bars and clubs’ to ‘museums and art galleries’ to ‘non-profit organizations’…

BTW, sign up on The Lek is free but to email a new person it’s usually 99 cents for first contact, not for every email sent to that person. Co-founder David B. Kurtz says to think of it as an “iTunes of dating.”

But if that still doesn’t work for you, as a special through April 1, if you sign up and post a picture of yourself on the site, you get Founding Lekkers status which means no email charges FOREVER.

If you sign up after April 1, shoot me an email. I may have a special code for you so that you can get your first five contacts for free.

EVENT: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 from 8 to 10pm

BottleRock
3847 Main Street
Culver City, California 90232 (map)
(310) 836-9463