Why wait for the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta this September to enjoy a food and wine celebration that benefits the community at large? From 4 to 7 p.m. June 19, food writer, chef and culinary instructor Johnny Vee hosts the second annual Wine for a Cause event at the Pink Adobe restaurant (406 Old Santa Fe Trail, 983-7712) and the Dragon Room bar next door.

I bumped into one of the event's organizers at 315 Restaurant and Wine Bar last week, and as we each enjoyed a glass of the grape, she told me how excited she was for this year's Wine for a Cause at "the Pink." As a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the fête includes top-notch selections from numerous winemakers, hors d'oeuvres and live entertainment by Cuban-street-music ensemble Savor.

There will also be an auction of fine wines, spirits, artwork, travel and dining packages, and other items. As the event inches closer, I'll let you know what's on the menu. But get your advance tickets now — this event is extremely popular, especially among wine enthusiasts who miss out on (or cannot afford) the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta's main event. Wine for a Cause is a much smaller shindig, to be sure, but the price is right and the objective is heartfelt. Tickets, $25, are available online at www.acscan.org/nmwineforacause, and they will also be available at the door the day of the event — if there's any room left!

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Speaking of wine: Greg O'Byrne, TASTE's longtime wine guy, certified sommelier and executive director of the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, oversees a biodynamic wine tasting from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 23, at Erin Wade's Vinaigrette Salad Bistro and Wine Bar (709 Don Cubero Alley, 820-9205, just off Cerrillos Road near Don Diego Avenue). The event, in which O'Byrne discusses the sustainability aspects and history of biodynamic winemaking, is presented by Slow Food Santa Fe.

Sample three wines from Brick House Vinyard, which is situated just above Oregon's Chehalem Valley: a Chardonnay, a Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir. These wines will be paired with Domaine de Villaine Burgundy wines from France's Côte Chalonnaise region that are crafted from the same grapes. With each wine pairing The Vinaigrette Salad Bistro will serve up a signature dish assembled with goodies from Erin Wade's Nambé farm and the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Tickets are limited to 50, and are $35 for current Slow Food members and $40 for nonmembers. They can be purchased online at http://slowfoodsantafe.eventbrite.com. I'm excited for this event, but I'm also tickled pink that Wade has invited me out to her Nambé farm soon. Look for more on that in TASTE in the weeks to come!

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Tonight, the 2010 Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute's Wednesday Night Movie Series comes to a close with a premiere Santa Fe screening of Food Stamped, a documentary film by "eco-kashrut" Santa Fe couple (by way of Berekley, Calif.) Shira and Yoav Potash. Follow Shira, a nutrition educator who works with children in public schools, and her filmmaker husband as they try to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food-stamp budget. (At the time the film was made, that budget amounted to around $1 per meal).

The one-hour film begins at 7 p.m. in the Santa Fe Farmers' Market Pavilion in the Railyard (1607 Paseo de Peralta), and The Potashes will conduct a discussion and Q&A session after the screening, and La Montanita Co-Op will be on hand serving up locally made pizzas. General admission is $12, $10 for institute members, seniors and students, and $6 for those under 18. Proceeds benefit the Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute. Visit www.foodstamped.com and www.santafefarmersmarket.com for information.

And don't forget: Eating healthy on a fixed food budget can be easier to achieve — and fun — if you grow the food yourself and barter with fellow growers to keep variety high. On that note, head down to the Santa Fe Farmers Market every Tuesday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon to get starter plants for your home or office garden. And mark your calendars: Thursday's farmers markets (3-7 p.m.) begin in the Railyard on June 24.

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Some like it really hot, including TASTE tipster and self-professed Santa Fe gardener, gourmet and gourmand Bobby Mogill. He let the Fork know that Newman's Nursery (7501 Cerrillos Road, 471-8642) has starters of the Asian Bhut Jolokia plant, the hottest chile pepper in the world. The pepper has a Scolville heat-unit level (the measure of capsaicin, the chemical responsible for the spicy heat of pepper plants) of more than 1 million Scolville units. The higher the number, the hotter the pepper. To put it into perspective, a jalapeño has a Scolville heat-unit level of just 2,500.

According to nursery proprietor Malcolm Newman, the Bhut Jolokia — aka the Ghost Pepper or Cobra Pepper — should be grown in pots and not in beds, because they have a long growing season (up to 160 days from germination to harvest), and the plants can oftentimes survive indoors during colder months with proper care. Gardeners I know who have grown the pepper say a 1- or 2-gallon pot that drains well is a good container choice for single plants. But don't take my word for it. Ask the experts at Newman's.

And a word of warning: keep these plants away from pets, children and stupid adults. Wear gloves when handling them, and thoroughly wash all utensils and surfaces that come into contact with the peppers. They are devastatingly hot and can be dangerous. If you don't believe me, just watch the ongoing pain parade on YouTube. And happy growing!

Send tips on what's happening in the local food, gardening, and restaurant scenes to Rob DeWalt at rdewalt@sfnewmexican.com. You can also follow Rob and Taste on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sfnmTASTE.