‘Quick — tell me about yourself’

Brent and Sharon were a bit nervous about dating 10 people in one night.

“I had never done anything like this and neither had she,” said Brent.

But thanks to a little bravery and one winter night of “speed dating,” the happy couple met and has now been dating for five months.

“We really just hit it off immediately,” said Sharon.

“My eye was on her from the get-go,” said Brent. “I was sort of cajoled into it and so was she. We are so glad we did it.”

Brent Lindstrom and Sharon, who did not wish to give her last name, met each other — and 10 other singles — during a speed dating event at a local wine bar organized by Petaluma resident Wikki Verma. Speed dating is a relaxed alternative to Internet dating and the bar scene. Already popular in other areas, it is catching on quickly in Petaluma.

“It’s working with people and just showing that it’s OK to be single and it’s not a dead-end wall,” said Verma. “You’re not always going to find that sitting behind a computer.”

Singles who sign up for speed dating through Verma’s company, Wine Country Connection, meet up to 25 people in one night. Participants sit at tables with one other person and talk for about five minutes. The MC blows a whistle to signal a rotation, or “new date.” Participants have scorecards and mark whether each date is someone they would like to see again. In each match-up where both participants indicate they want to meet again, Verma e-mails each person the other’s contact information after the event.

But Brent and Sharon couldn’t wait that long. They were the first match-up of the night, and exchanged e-mails right then and there before moving on to their other dates.

“I e-mailed her the minute I got home,” said Brent. “Why throw fate out the window?”

Brent saw the event on Craigslist and Sharon was urged by her friends to go. Both said they had to force themselves to go at first, but that it turned out to be a good way to meet people.

“For 90 percent of people, it’s their first time,” said Verma. “A lot of people, when they first come in, are really not sure what they got themselves into. Once they figure out that everyone else is in the same boat, they really relax.”

Verma started Wine Country Connections about seven years ago after going to speed dating events in London and Los Angeles before he met his wife.

“In London, its very popular. It’s a normal thing that people do there on a Friday night,” he said.

Since starting the company, he has put on about 46 speed dating events at various restaurants and venues. Participants are divided up by age groups and sexual orientation, but the most popular group in Petaluma is age 50 and up.

“Some people are getting out of old relationships and marriages that didn’t work,” said Verma.

“It’s hard for someone just out of a relationship to jump into the bar scene,” he said. “It’s the same nervous feeling and emotions that we all went through in high school.”

Often times, it is not just romantic relationships that form, but also friendships, Verma said.

“You will always meet equally open-minded people,” he said.

(Contact Philip Riley at philip.riley@arguscourier.com)

Wine Country Connection is also currently holding a “most embarrassing dating story” contest. All single men and women of Sonoma County are encouraged to share their funniest or most embarrassing date for a chance to win a complete spa makeover. Information about the event, open until June 30, can be found at winecountryconnection.com

“Everyone has their story that they want to share,” he said.

(Contact Philip Riley at philip.riley@arguscourier.com)