Drink fine wine for a good cause -- really

Just when you thought you didn’t need another excuse to drink good wine, the Newport Beach Centennial Committee has a great reason: to support the city’s upcoming 100th birthday.

Two local wine shops will host wine tastings on four dates this summer and fall. The first tastings will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at both the Great Legs Wine Boutique in Newport Beach and the Wine Gallery in Corona del Mar.

For $25, guests can sample a selection of wines, with a portion of the proceeds going toward the centennial fund. For any wine purchased the evening of the tasting, 10% will also go toward the fund.

“It’s really to raise awareness and to get people out and have a good time,” the city’s Recreations and Senior Services Manager Marie Knight said.

Newport Beach resident and centennial committee volunteer Lynn Splendid Light came up with idea of doing a wine-tasting fundraiser.

“We’re looking for so many different ways to involve all of the community,” said Splendid Light, who grew up in Napa and frequently works with wineries.

The centennial committee has brainstormed event ideas that appeal to a wide audience ? this one, geared at Newport’s wine lovers, will hopefully draw a following, Splendid Light said.

“It’s something a little different than what we’ve done for some other centennial events,” Centennial Committee member Chris Trela said.

Each wine tasting will feature about six to seven boutique wines, each produced in a limited run.

“Most of them you won’t find in a supermarket,” Great Legs owner Maureen Collins said.

The tastings will be held simultaneously at each wine shop and can accommodate about 40 people. Representatives from the centennial committee will be on hand at all wine tastings to answer any centennial questions, Trela said.

In addition to Wednesday, the tastings will be held Aug. 2, Sept. 6, and Oct. 4. at Great Legs Wine Boutique, 2901 W. Coast Highway, Suite 100, Newport Beach and at the Wine Gallery, 2411 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. For location information and tasting menu, call Great Legs Wine Boutique, (949) 515-8466, and the Wine Gallery, (949) 675-3410.dpt.02-wine-CPhotoInfo651SI7IA20060702j1qynxnc MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Maureen Collins, the owner of Great Legs wine shop in Newport Beach, pours a glass of Matanzas Creek Winery 2004 Chardonnay Sonoma Valley.