In my never-ending quest to find quirky wine events comes this: Hedges Cellars Bottle Your Own Party. While it may sound as if you’re expected to put a party in a bottle, what the good folks at Hedges actually offer is a chance to bottle your own wine. They’ve set aside four barrels of a very tasty red blend. For $30 you get a magnum (twice normal size) bottle, a cork, a foil capsule, and enough guidance to make it all come together. They’ll also supply food and raucous music, plus winery owner Tom Hedges will be on hand to autograph your finished product. The event is Sunday, October 15, from noon till 5. Hedges Cellars is located at 195 NE Gilman in Issaquah. Introduce yourself to me when you get there. I’ll be the one staggering around the tasting room, drooling wine onto my shirt.

Brasa: a new high, a new low

You, faithful readers, have heard (read?) my frequent screeds on the subject of restaurant wine prices. This intrepid reporter was flabbergasted again on a recent outing to Brasa, an absolutely superb restaurant except for one thing: Their wine prices are a total rape. Want an example? I spotted an Andrew Will wine on their menu for $47. Brasa’s wholesale price: about $14. And I saw many, many other examples of gouging. When I mentioned to the waitress that Brasa’s wine prices were the highest I’d ever seen, she went off on a long discourse on the restaurant having to pay taxes on the wine. Gee, really? You think Brasa is the only restaurant that has to pay taxes? Sorry. It’s not taxes that set your wine prices, it’s avarice. So this week’s Greedy Restaurant Award goes to Brasa. Try them for the outstanding Penn Cove mussels and roasted duck. But bring your own bottle of wine.

E-mail: wine@seattleweekly.com