SAY "LAKE HOUSE"... and images of outdoor grilling, complete with various rubs and sauces and meats and vegetables, springs to the forefront of one's appetite-focused thoughts. Say "Lake Tahoe" and the mind turns to many meals had around the alpine wonder's shores, from campfire s'mores to high-end steaks. And say "Lake Tahoe in September" and the foodie rhapsody is bound to include one of the region's best known cuisine happenings, a 31-year-old celebration that is called the area's "most prestigious food, wine, spirit, and brew festival." Since all of the big lake's bite-filled burgs have a lot to offer in this edible-nice arena, the Lake Tahoe Autumn Food & Wine Festival lasts for three days, and they're some of the mellowest and most memorable days on the calendar. Yep, we're talking about September here and specifically...
SEPT. 9 THROUGH 11: As with past Autumn Food & Wine Festivals, you can select the dinner or cookout or demo that suits your fancy, and simply ticket-up for that single to-do. Northstar is the center of the gourmet goings-on, both the mountain and the village, though a few other spots will cameo during the cuisine-yum doings. Highlights include a Saturday Village Wine and Brew Walk, the Gourmet Marketplace Vendor Fair (the popular stroll/snack scene lands on both Saturday and Sunday), a Wine'd Down Movie Night, and the Grand Tasting & Culinary Competition on Sunday, Sept. 11. Some events are gratis, some are ticketed, but all bustle with foodie fans who love their lake-adjacent eats, especially in mellow September, when some of the higher elevation trees are starting to go gold.