The Charmer Sunbelt Group, one of the nation’s leading distributors of fine wines, spirits, beer and bottled water, is hosting the Second Annual Wine Tasting and Auction on March 16, 2005 at Pier 60, Chelsea Piers in New York City to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York.

This year’s event will feature a VIP Horizontal Tasting of the 2002 Vintage of the Wines of the Domain de La Romanée-Conti: La Tâche, Richebourg, Romanée-St. Vivant, Échézeaux, Grands Echézeaux and Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru. In addition, there will be a special Benefactor Tasting of a 1994 Retrospective of California Cabernet Sauvignon: Silver Oak, The Hess Collection, Rombauer Vineyards, Groth Vineyards and Burgess Cellars.

“Just as we are committed to providing the absolutely best service to our customers and suppliers, we are also committed to assisting charitable organizations in the community, like the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” stated Charles Merinoff, CEO and vice chairman of The Charmer Sunbelt Group and a member of the Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York. “Last year, this event was a fabulous success raising over $177,000 for the Foundation. It’s our desire to continue this event as a key fundraiser so that as many children as possible can be sponsored in the years to come.”

Wines from around the world, tours of some of the world’s most distinguished wineries, along with other wine-related products will be auctioned during the event. During the Silent Auction viewing, attendees will be given an opportunity to sample hundreds of wines from around the world, and taste complimentary dishes from the city’s top restaurants, including Abigail Kirsch, Citron, Poetessa, George O'Neill's Steakhouse, Milos, Bleu Evolution, Hispaniola, and many more.

The VIP and Benefactor Tastings will begin at 6:00 PM, followed by Silent and Live Auctions at 7:00 PM. For tickets and sponsorship information, please contact Crystal Abarca, at the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York, 212-849-6864 or cabarca@metrony.wish.org.

The Charmer Sunbelt Group is one of the nation’s leading distributors of fine wine, spirits, beer, bottled water and other non-alcoholic products. The Charmer Sunbelt Group is a group of affiliated, independent companies operating in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. The Group’s Vision of Being the Distributor of Choice includes a commitment to community and charitable involvement in its various markets.

The mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. The Metro New York chapter, which serves the five boroughs of New York City and Nassau County, Long Island began in 1983 and is headquartered in Lake Success with a field office in Manhattan. Since its founding, the Metro New York chapter has granted more than 5,400 wishes. In fiscal year 2004, the chapter granted 489 wishes to local children and hosted another 186 children from Make-A-Wish chapters around the world whose wishes involved travel to New York City. This equates to one wish every 13 hours -- making Metro New York one of the most active chapters in the national network of 73 Make-A-Wish chapters across the country.