Drink Wine, Help Haiti

Since the earthquake in Haiti, the city has come up with lots of creative ways  to help the crumbled nation: Bars have offered fanciful Carribean beverages, which seem to do little more than provide you with a nasty hangover.

Restaurants have taken advantage of the earthquake's proximity to restaurant week (great timing, earthquake!) by preparing special "Help Haiti" menus. Even women with little more to offer than their natural assets have been pitching in: Hooters donated profits from Super Bowl Sunday and Amy Fisher a.k.a. "The Long Island Lolita" stripped for the cause.

But leave it to The City Winery to cut all (okay, at least most) of the nonsense out of fundraising efforts. At its charity wine auction on Monday, the Winery is tapping New York's demand for and supply of fine wine to send what they hope will be $25,000 directly to relief efforts. All bottles of wine, to be auctioned commission-free by Sotheby's, have been donated and all proceeds are going equally to Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health and the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center, which has been sending emergency mobile hospitals to the island.

The Winery is still accepting donations, but has so far compiled a list sure to send any wine-lovers heart racing. Bordeaux from some of the finest and oldest estates in France, including  a 1970 Château Lafite Rothchild and a 1945 Grand Vin De Leoville are on the block. To answer questions and provide history on the vintages, Jean Luc Le Du from Le Du's Wines and Natalie Tapken, the wine director at Lure Fish will be roaming the room.  And since this is an evening to be enjoying and not hoarding, Riedel has donated several decanters for winners to share and enjoy their prize on the spot.

The auction is preceeded by a reception where wine that was made on the premises will be served, and a musical group from Haiti will remind you why you're there in the first place.

For a complete list of wines and to buy tickets ($10), click here.

What: Charity Wine Auction
Where: The City Winery. 155 Varick Street, between Spring and Vandam
When: Monday, February 22