Tasting Notes

Bedford Pinot Noir at Katonah Wine & Liquor

A custom-crush wine created by an Armonk resident is drawing attention at Katonah Wine & Liquor.

The winemaker’s brand has two labels: Bedford and Glenville, named for an intersection of roads near his home. Called Bedford Pinot Noir, this “splendid-value” pinot is joined by “a sneaky good cabernet.”

 Katonah Wine & Liquor is located at 120 Katonah Ave., Katonah.

Chiaroscuro Coffee celebrates first year

Husband and wife team Gerald and Caity Massoud created the small-batch coffee company to celebrate coffee as an art form, based in Brewster and roasting in Peekskill. Chiaroscuro is an Italian artistic technique using lightness and darkness to develop a three-dimensional result with complexity and depth.

The coffee will be at Honeybee Grove Flower Farm’s market days, as well as the Bedford Hills Community Market at the train station and the North Salem Farmers Market.The company focuses on high-quality, small batch artisanal coffee sourcing, offering a changing selection of coffees, while keeping the customer favorites. “We want to expose people to different things but make it accessible,” Gerald said.

In the following year, they’ll have a new lineup of roasts, partnerships with local farms, and a full season of markets ahead, where they’ll debut their cold brew coffee. For more information, visit chiaroscurocoffee.com.

Pizza Girls NY splitswith Rochambeau 

After years of slinging bubbly pizza pies from their oven beside the farm store at Rochambeau Farm in Mount Kisco, Pizza Girls is ending the partnership.

The pizza business, co-founded and co-owned by Natalia Cardona and Laura Arias, expanded a couple years ago with another oven station, this time at oHHo The Old Firehouse in Bedford Village. Next, the owners plan to open their first brick-and-mortar pizzeria on 38 East Main St., Mount Kisco.

Hamlet, Ambleside Pub to add tea room

The owners who brought Ambleside Pub and The Hamlet to Mount Kisco are planning to add a British tea room and bakery.

Drew and Leigh Hodgson announced on April 20 that they plan to open a café offering traditional afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, scones, clotted cream and desserts, plus champagne teas. There will also be a British bakery in the front with fresh pies, millionaire shortbread and pasties. The goal is to open by the fall; the location hasn’t been announced.

Check The Ambleside Pub on Instagram or Facebook for updates.

South Salem Winery's wine-making lessons

At the micro winery within Gossett Brothers Nursery in South Salem, vintner John Vuolo will share how to make your own micro lot of the fermented grape. He’ll explain about the two fermentations that occur to create a beautiful mouthfeel. Guests will taste different wines along with small food bites that pair well, from Culinary Institute of America-trained chef Tracy Kamperdyk of Gardenside Café.

As part of SUNY Westchester Community College’s Taste of Westchester program, people can sign up for classes that take them to local restaurant kitchens for demonstrations, discussions and tastings. For more information, visit sunywcc.edu/academics/majors-programs/a-taste-of-westchester.

Hammond Museum & Japanese Garden

As the weather turned quite pleasant for garden-strolling, the Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden in North Salem started offering lunch boxes on weekends.

Perfect for a picnic among the flowers, the lunch boxes are crafted by catering chef Paulie and his team. Coffee and cake service could be on the menu soon.

Hammond Museum & Japanese Stroll Garden is located at 28 Deveau Road, North Salem. For more information, visit hammondmuseum.org.

John Jay Homestead Farm Market returns to Katonah

The John Jay Homestead Farm Market returns for its 16th season Saturday, May 2, in downtown Katonah. It will be held every Saturday, rain or shine, through Nov. 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Lot 2, 190 Katonah Ave.

While restoration work continues at the Homestead, the market will once again transform the heart of Katonah into a lively weekly gathering place featuring dozens of local farmers, food producers and artisans. Visitors can shop New York–grown fruits and vegetables, certified organic and biodynamic produce, ethically raised meats and eggs, fresh seafood, breads, and a wide variety of specialty foods.

It also will host local musicians, nonprofits and members of the Katonah Village Chamber of Commerce.

The 2026 season will also feature special programming in honor of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Throughout the season, the market will host a weekly tent for coalition members of Rev Up 250, part of a townwide effort to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

The market will also host a special Fourth of July celebration during the season, highlighting the history, community spirit, and civic traditions that define both the nation and Katonah.

Tell us your food and dining news at asowder@therecorder.org.