Wine Tasting For Charity in New Hyde Park

What better way to spend a Friday evening then sampling fine wines. That's what the New Hyde Park-Floral Park Kiwanis Club decided to do, holding their second annual Wine & Cheese Night at the .

Of course, being the Kiwanis Club, it's all for a good cause, as club president Peter Ferello notes.

"All the funds raised here tonight will stay in local charities," Ferello said.

That means funding scholarships for area schools, where a lot of the Kiwanis' efforts are focused.  The club also raises money for Breast Cancer Outreach, the Boy Scouts and local little league programs.

Friday evening the club brought in Gil Travalin, a fine wine consultant for Lake Success-based Martin Scott wines, a distributor of wines from around the world.  Travalin was on hand to speak about the wines, giving people a bit more insight into what they were drinking other than simply whether it was red or white.

"I'll talk about each winery, a little bit of history and ownership, as well as the flavor profiles itself," Travalin said. "it's about people enjoying the wine a little bit more with a little bit of information."

All wines sampled were available for purchase.

"Delivering value is what we're talking about," Travalin said.  "All the wines we feature tonight are very value driven and in today's economy, that's very important."

A silent auction was held to add to the night's charity, where attendees could bid on jerseys and autographed sports memorabilia.  Raffles were held for an assortment of prizes as well.