Fall Food & Drink Festivals in Denver

The upcoming months are going to be good for your taste buds. Local food, microbrews, fine wine, expert chefs – it’s all coming your way in the Mile High City. Find out all about these delicious events here.

Cherry Creek North Food & Wine

Aug. 20
Cherry Creek North
www.cherryarts.org/FoodandWine

With more than 40 restaurants located in a 16-block neighborhood, Cherry Creek North is well poised to host Cherry Creek North Food & Wine. The weekend event includes culinary classes, a Grand Tasting on Fillmore Plaza highlighting the breadth of chef talent among the restaurants in Cherry Creek North, and a host of wines and spirits to complete the culinary experience.  

A Taste of Colorado

Sept. 2-5
Civic Center Park
www.atasteofcolorado.com

Got a healthy appetite? Good – you’re going to need it. That’s right, the weekend-long food-lovers’ delight known as A Taste of Colorado returns to Downtown Denver’s Civic Center Park this Labor Day Weekend. A Taste of Colorado features more than 50 of Colorado’s favorite food establishments offering sample- and full-sized portions of their specialties. With an exceptional variety to choose from, you’re sure to find something new no matter what kind of cuisine you’re looking for. You’ll find everything from the finest, fanciest food to that down-to-earth cooking Mom used to be so good at. All in all you’ll enjoy the offerings of over 50 area food establishments, 250 marketplace artisans and vendors, seven entertainment stages, kids’ and family activities, educational programs, and more — all for no admission fee. Not a bad deal!

Denver Food & Wine Classic

Sept. 9-10
www.denverfoodandwine.com

Save some room for this one! The Annual Denver Food & Wine Classic, presented by US Foodservice, is one of the largest food and wine tasting experiences in Denver. Join more than 3,500+ food and wine enthusiasts for a tasting of more than 400 featured wines, spirits and cuisine from over 30 of Denver’s finest restaurants. Enjoy a wine auction, a steel chef competition and a wide array of culinary demonstrations. Proceeds from the event will go to a number of great Denver charities.

Great American Beer Festival / Denver Beer Fest

Sept. 29- Oct. 1 (GABF) & Sept. 23-Oct. 1 (Denver Beer Fest)
Colorado Convention Center, Denver
www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com, www.denverbeerfest.com  

For beer aficionados, there’s no bigger event all year. More than 46,000 beer enthusiasts from Colorado, the United States, and around the world will attend this year’s Great American Beer Festival. The 2011 GABF is bigger than ever, covering 188,000 square feet of the Colorado Convention Center. GABF is all about sampling. Visitors enjoy one-ounce beer samples from the festival's breweries, which come from all over the country, giving beer lovers a walking tour of the nation’s beer-blessed landscape. The brewers themselves staff many of the booths. If you love beer, don’t miss this event. This year, tying in with GABF is the third annual Denver Beer Fest, a citywide celebration of all things beer in the Mile High City. Tastings, tours, beer-food dinner pairings, brewery talks and more are scheduled.

Harvest Week

Oct. 9-13
Various Restaurants throughout Denver
www.eatdenver.com

Denver’s restaurants are going local. Looking for proof? Check out Harvest Week. The Eat Denver collective, made up of the area’s top independent restaurants, has created this weeklong celebration of Colorado’s exceptional produce and products. Each participating restaurant will create a menu for Harvest Week that features food and/or beverages grown or produced in Colorado and highlights the style of that particular eatery. Peaches, sweet corn, chevre, trout and lamb and other lesser-known Colorado products will also be featured, such as heirloom tomatoes, berries, greens and potatoes.

Denver International Wine Festival

Nov. 2-6
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
www.denverwinefest.com

The premier International Wine Festival in The Rocky Mountains is a celebration of wine, cuisine and travel. Proprietors and winemakers from around the world will present more than 400 wines for your discerning palate. No matter if you're a dyed-in-the-wool oenophile or a newbie to the world of wine, this is yet another can't-miss Denver event.