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Three floors afloat in vino

MERLOT FOR MOSI: The (un)scientific formula for raising funds and having fun includes 80 wineries plus a dozen restaurants and 1,200 tasters at Einstein on Wine Jan. 31 at the Museum of Science and Industry.

ABC Fine Wine and Spirits and local distributors poured enough wine to sink the Titanic exhibit on the first floor. The Titanic was off-limits, but guests could test their scientific knowledge at all the other interactive displays.

Organizers, including chairwoman Beverly Kierny and Anthony Arena, president of the support group BEAM, or Be Enthusiastic About MOSI, relied on 60 volunteers, including 50 from JPMorganChase.

A silent auction in the lobby awaited arrivals, along with music by Denise Moore and Then Some, and dancers from Arthur Murray studio. Guests used maps to find their way to Shulas, Olive Grove Cafe and other restaurants that served food on three floors.

If there were a prize for best dressed it would have gone to Buck Scogin in a black wool suit and polka dot tie. The retired haberdasher and IMAX fan has attended five of nine Einstein on Wine nights.

Tickets ranged from $50 for MOSI members to $70 at the door. Proceeds, expected to top $70,000, go to the museum's K+

SUPER FUN: The 13 Ugly Men packed 1,000 pool-playing bowlers into Splitsville on Sunday for a Super Bowl bash. For $20 a person, they ate sliders and pizza and downed 24 kegs of Budweiser and 10 cases of Jack Daniels at the Channelside restaurant. They also bought raffle tickets to raise $10,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which helps children of soldiers who have died during a mission.

Spotted in the crowd: Tampa Bay Bucs Ronde and Claudia Barber and Todd and Susan Yoder.

Meanwhile, at the Davis Islands Garden Center, lawyer David Anton and friends Richard Chad and Dan Albert and their families hosted about 250 at Anton's 25th annual Super Bowl bash.

Anton started the tradition as a student at the University of Florida. After graduating, he moved the party to his condo at One Laurel Place for eight years, then to his home on Davis Islands for nine years.

He met his future wife, Becky Ferrell, in his garage during one of the parties. After their marriage, the potluck party moved to an old house he and Chad restored in Ybor City.

Anton has held the past four parties at the garden club. Every year the guest list grows as people marry and have children.

"It used to be mostly singles, now it's 50 percent kids," he said.

RALLY AT RATTLEFISH: Most of the more than 200 guests at the Rattlefish Raw Bar and Grill on Jan. 27 came to see the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Sarasota/Tampa grant its 1,000th wish.

Some just wanted to check out the new dockside restaurant behind the Bayside Marina at the end of Tyson Street.

All were happy to pay $30 each to eat "seafood margaritas," shrimp rolls, Rattlefish spread and pressed pork sandwiches with complimentary beer and wine.

The crowd cheered as Nicole Boyd, 5, got her wish, a voice-activated laptop computer with Braille accessories. The Plant City child's blindness was caused by optic nerve glioma, a brain tumor.

Also on hand: the 800th wish recipient, Molly Edwards, 13, a Coleman Middle School seventh-grader who received money to buy two Chincoteague ponies at an auction in Virginia.

Kelly Feldman, wife of Make-A-Wish president Randy Feldman, climbed on a bar table to auction off Super Bowl tickets and fried Oreo desserts. Loren Rhoads bought two tickets for $2,000 and a pie for $100, raising the event's total to $8,000.

CASA De KWASIN: After a fire destroyed Mike Kwasin's Sunset Park house, his two classic Porsches and a $100,000 wine collection in April 1998, he rebuilt his bachelor pad specifically for wine tastings.

At first, Kwasin, the owner of the Fine Wine & Spirits Warehouse on Gandy Boulevard, held parties for clients. But when his neighbors complained about cars blocking the street, he turned the tastings into charity events and let neighbors choose the beneficiaries. Now, they beg him to have parties, said Kip Kuck, his general manager.

On Jan. 29 - Kwasin's 60th birthday - he hosted an event for Abilities Foundation, which helps people with disabilities. About 250 guests paid $15 or $25 a couple to raise $1,800 for the group. Dragonfly Catering donated the hors d'oeuvres.

During a tour of his 14,000-square-foot waterfront home, Kwasin pointed out some highlights: a draft beer room, an elevator, a 14-car garage and a wine cellar that holds 5,000 bottles.

WHEN O'MALLEYS CHOSE SALLY: The Gift of Adoption Fund got a $7,500 boost from Sally Harris and Ye Loyal Krewe of Grace O'Malley during a Havana-themed dinner dance at the Cuban Club on Jan. 24.

Harris earned the krewe's annual Aleta Goodson Community Service Award, which means she gets to pick a charity to receive the club's annual fundraising bounty.

Harris, owner of Circle C Ranch Academy, has been a foster mother to more than 22 children. She knows how the Gift of Adoption Fund helps couples cover some of the costs of adoption.

Krewe member Ann Marie Critcher presented the check to Harris, who turned it over to Cheryl and Michael Benitez, founders of the fund.

: An Affair of the Heart cabaret and auction to benefit Stage Works; Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn, 1915 Avenida Republica de Cuba; 6-9 p.m.; $35 advance; $40 at the door.: Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary Marjorie Kynes Memorial Scholarship Coffee; 11 a.m.; home of Warren Rendall; 226-0055, ext. 402.

: Ninth annual Stars, Hearts, Fashion & Fun, celebrity fashion show to benefit MacDonald Training Center; Hyatt Regency Tampa; 11:30 a.m.; $50; 870-1300, ext. 310.

FEB. 19: LAMPlighters Luncheon of Light and fashion show benefits Metropolitan Ministries and Joshua House; 11 a.m.; fashions from Saks Fifth Avenue; Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay; $75; 250-3737.

FEB. 20: DeBartolo Family Foundation All-Star Charity Spectacular; guest speaker retired Gen. Tommy Franks; 6:30 p.m.; A La Carte Pavilion; $250; 964-8302.