A hallmark of Lake Tahoe is the passion for food, wine, the arts, and the great outdoors. The great outdoors is always in the spotlight. Let's take a moment to give wine some recognition. From events to tasting rooms to winemaker dinners, we sure do wine well around here. In fact, there are options to keep your social calendar full year-round, taking Lake Tahoe tradition to an entirely new level of food and wine culture. Below are some of our favorite ways to sip, relax, and enjoy Lake Tahoe.

Wine Events

Tahoe City Wine Walk 

Every summer in Tahoe City comes the opportunity to spend an afternoon tasting some of the best wines in the region while walking along Lake Tahoe’s breathtaking North Shore. Tahoe City’s quaint downtown is an ideal Tahoe spot for window shopping, sight-seeing, and taking in music from local artists and bands. Wine walk and take in the brilliant blue expanse of Lake Tahoe’s panoramic views.

This wine walk is also particularly child-friendly, offering free admittance for small children and $10 admission for kids over age 7. Commons Beach is a local favorite with a children’s play area located along the water’s edge. View Nearby Vacation Rentals

Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk and Shop 

Over 1000 visitors come to historic Downtown Truckee for this annual event that’s over a decade in the making.

Visitors walk along the nostalgic arcade of late nineteenth century brick buildings, where the makings of an old saloon are still evident in the architecture and faded shop signs take you back in time over 100 years. The street located behind downtown’s Donner Pass Road, Bridge Street, also features many hidden treasures and local hotspots, and even an old jailhouse from the pioneer days.

Visitors are provided a passport upon check-in to all wine tasting stops, and visitors who get a passport stamp at each spot submit their passports at the end of the event for the grand prize drawing. Attendees also get the opportunity to be event critics for the day, casting People’s Choice votes for favorite restaurant, winery, and venue. View Nearby Vacation Rentals

Autumn Food and Wine Festival 

This three day long food and wine extravaganza offers an unparalleled amount of wine, brew, spirit, and gourmet food tasting as well as entertainment and learning opportunities at a number of different locations.

Festival events run the gamut of art shows, culinary classes, gourmet marketplace vendor fairs, scenic outdoor excursions, and much, much more. This event is not to be missed for the most faithful of food and wine enthusiasts.

Free children’s activities are offered at the Village at Northstar with complimentary face painting, balloon sculptures, arts and crafts, bungee trampoline, and miniature golf. View Nearby Vacation Rentals

Tastings

Uncorked and Petra 

The Uncorked brand has been steadily developing a cult following over the last decade in Lake Tahoe. What was once one local wine bar has grown into three locations in Tahoe City, Squaw Valley, and Truckee, with Petra now situated in the world-class Village at Northstar.

The interior of these wine bars is unforgettable - no matter how much wine you drink - with handmade, locally sourced wood carpentry throughout from Lake Tahoe’s own Roundwood Furniture. The organic expression in functional art is a true hallmark of Tahoe style, bringing the outdoors inside.  

The convenient locations of Uncorked in Squaw Village and Petra in the Village at Northstar have made the wine bar an elevated après ski tradition and off-season hotspot for local and visitor regulars alike.  View Squaw Valley Vacation Rentals; VIew Northstar Vacation Rentals

Uncorked Tahoe City is located conveniently next to the town’s only movie theater. The formerly Cobblestone Cinema is now revamped as Tahoe Art Haus and Cinema. Completely refurbished, the theater offers live music, independent and major motion pictures, sporting event screenings, and is also the stage of the Tahoe Youth Ballet. Event-goers can often be found at Uncorked pre and post-event. View Nearby Vacation Rentals

Uncorked Truckee is nestled in the center of Historic Downtown as the ideal location for wine tasting during a day of window shopping or prior to sitting down for a beautiful meal at one of Downtown Truckee’s many fine dining options. The local vibe is strong at this location, with Tahoe artists’ work rotated on a regular basis. View Nearby Vacation Rentals  

Faithful wine drinkers enjoy discounts with monthly wine club options and an unbeatable happy hour featuring two glasses of wine and cheese plate for $20.

Pour House 

The Pour House is one of Tahoe’s best kept secret wine spots, tucked away on Jibboom Street behind Downtown Truckee. The building is seemingly small from the exterior but the senses are bombarded upon entering the historic building with countless vintages and the aperitivo enthusiasts dream come true with a bountiful display of charcuterie and cheeses. The Pour House is the sort of intimate setting you can stay, talk wine, and simply not want to leave.

The Pour House specialized in small family owned wineries with unique, little known vintages. Prices start as low as $7.99 a bottle and rise to the expectations and international vintages of the most discriminating connoisseur. 

Notable discounts include 10 percent off on unbroken cases of wine and wine tastings feature new wines every week from $1 to $3 dollars per 2 ounce taste. A two-tiered wine club features wine bottle of wine per month for $25 or less, or two bottles per month for $45 or less. Also available are cellar services, wine party services, and classes. View Nearby Vacation Rentals     

Truckee River Winery 

The unofficial winery of Truckee-Tahoe, Truckee River Winery sources from vineyards as close as Gardnerville at the foothills of the Sierra’s, with vines also grown along Reno-Tahoe’s own Truckee River.

A hybrid of wine tasting and family-friendly, Truckee River Winery’s unique property offers outdoor seating and bocce ball courts. Guests are also invited to bring their own picnic lunches and there’s plenty of space the kids to play while adults sit back and relax.

Other offerings include educational Winemaker Wednesday events for $35 dollars per person. Enjoy mimosas and bellinis on Sunday Fundays. Once a month, enjoy discounts on special tastings and barrel samples, and meet the winemaker on Sunday Wine Down events. Attend hosted full moon snowshoe tours on the property throughout the winter and go to Wine N Ice Snowfest, an ice carving competition hosted by Truckee’s local High Fives Nonprofit Foundation.

A hallmark of Lake Tahoe culture is none other than bocce ball. Truckee River Winery is now the host of the High Fives Foundation Annual Bocce Tournament, an event that grows exponentially popular every year. Full Moon Glow Ball, a glow in the dark rendition of bocce, is also offered throughout the summer for a $20 dollar cover that includes a glass of wine, assortment of appetizers, desserts, and fun glow items to keep. Bocce classes are available spring through summer, and diehard bocce players can even join seasonal leagues year-round.

Truckee River Winery also hosts other seasonal events that range from the educational to the artistic. View Nearby Vacation Rentals

Winemaker Dinners

Another hallmark of Lake Tahoe culture is the winemaker dinner. Winemaker dinners feature special vintages from unique vineyards, carefully paired with multicourse meals. Guests go on a veritable journey of the palate with the winemaker as the guide. These exclusive events are reservation only and seats are filled quickly.

Lone Eagle Grill 

Incline Village’s premier waterfront fine dining restaurant features award-winning cuisine and 180 degree views of beautiful Lake Tahoe. A truly signature setting for lakefront dining, the Lone Eagle Grill features a four course winemaker dinner series that is announced periodically on the venue’s website. Each event is unique, specializing in family winemaking legacies.  View Nearby Vacation Rentals  

Homewood Mountain Resort 

Lake Tahoe ski resorts are among wine lovers’ favorites as the backdrop for their winemaker dinner experience. Homewood Mountain Resort features al fresco winemaker dinners with breathtaking views, with their ‘Farm to Peak Mountaintop Dinners’ as their own unique rendition of the farm to table dinner. Guests sip champagne while riding the chairlift to the top of Homewood for a truly elevated dining experience. The dinners are five courses with fresh, seasonal, locally-sourced food provided by Tahoe Food Hub. The meals are prepared and paired with wines by a special guest chef.  View Nearby Vacation Rentals

PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn

Lake Tahoe’s crème de la crème of the winemaker dinner is the artfully prepared Master Sommelier Wine Dinner Series hosted by none other than PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn. Situated as the base of Squaw Valley, PlumpJack is a mecca for Lake Tahoe food and wine culture, with affiliates located throughout Napa Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. The evening begins with a 6pm social hour with the sommelier, followed by a 6:45pm lecture on deductive tasting, with dinner seating at 7pm. A four ounce pouring of wine accompanies each course. View Nearby Vacation Rentals