PLEASANTVILLE - Hundreds of people found a good incentive to sip wine in the early afternoon yesterday - charity.

Friends and couples milled around the Kessel Campus Center at Pace University, sampling some 200 wines and an array of foods from local restaurants at the fundraising Westchester Wine Experience. The Pleasantville Rotary Club, which sponsored the event, will use the proceeds to provide relief to poor families in other parts of the world.

For Michele Camardella of West Harrison, that made the wine tastings even more enjoyable.

"It's a good cause. You don't mind spending the money," said Camardella, 39, who was sipping a glass of pinot noir and sampling a serving of clams casino.

Camardella and friend Tricia Murphy of Yonkers were pleased to discover new restaurants in the area, especially ones that featured live music, and to learn about wines from Germany, Chile and other countries.

"The selection of wines is fantastic," said Murphy, a 38-year-old sales analyst, who was sipping a chardonnay from Italy.

Vendors at the event educated ticketholders about grapes, grape blends and food pairings. Art Prudhomme, a sales representative from the distributor Southern Wine & Spirits of New York Inc., said he benefits from the interaction with wine drinkers.

"They're asking questions and giving me feedback on the way," he said. "It teaches me what the consumer is looking for."

The wine distributors, wineries and local restaurants all donate their time and their products to the event. Pace University donated the space for the Wine Experience.

Revenue came from the audience, estimated at 600 people, who paid $45 or $50 to get into the Westchester Wine Experience.

In past years, the Pleasantville Rotary Club has raised money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and for local ambulance corps and has paid to provide lunch at high schools in South Africa.

The Rotary Club "hit the jackpot" when it launched the wine festival seven years ago, said Janet Di Benedetto, a club member and former Rotary district governor who helped organize the event. The public seems to have grown more interested in drinking and learning about wine in recent years, she said.

"We have pancake breakfasts. We sell oranges and grapefruits in autumn. But this is our big one," said Di Benedetto.