Growing a food culture in the Valley.
Get a Taste of Hudson at this 4th annual event on September 8. It’s a fall season kickoff with more than 20 participating local restaurants and food purveyors in a day of shameless sampling. Foodies can graze their way through appetizers, entrees, gourmet coffee, teas, cheeses, ethnic and comfort foods, baked goods, soups and desserts in a street fair atmosphere.
You won’t look far to find New York’s finest at the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Fest, September 8-9 at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. Sip hundreds of New York wines and sample gourmet foods. Learn at cooking demos and seminars, and chat with leading winemakers. Live entertainment too.
Putnam puts its top chefs and best wines to the test, September 10 at the Putnam Best Chefs and Fine Wines event. Sample signature dishes from Putnam's finest food establishments, along with tastings of fine wines and microbrews, all set to scenic views of the Hudson River at The Garrison.
Another “taste of” celebration is Taste of New Paltz, September 16 at the Ulster County Fairgrounds. Food and wine are the main events at this sample fest, with taste-size portions of local restaurant specialties, fresh-harvested produce from local farm markets, and the Hudson Valley’s finest wines direct from area wineries.
Our many Hudson Valley vineyards offer hospitality straight off the vine. Fall events at Whitecliff Vineyard include an Artisanal Cheese & Wine Tasting, September 22-23, owner-conducted winery tours in October, and a not-to-be-missed Red Wine & Chocolate tasting event, November 3-4, at this family-run winery.
Italian or not, you’ll enjoy the Congers-Valley Italian Festival on September 30. With its pure old-country entertainment, local Italian restaurant specialties, cannolis, zeppoles, biscotti and Italian ices, no one leaves hungry. Shop crafters and vendors at this free event.
There are apple fests, and then there’s the October 14 Warwick Applefest, attracting 30,000 visitors for one delicious day of Warwick apples, culture and entertainment. Hundreds of food and craft vendors, multi-stage shows, and a vast Farmers’ Market and Kid Carnival have made this a signature regional event with free admission.
Can’t get enough chocolate? At the Chocolate World Expo in White Plains you can taste it, buy it and learn its secrets, Sunday, November 4. Gourmet chocolates, brownies and bon bons, baked goods and specialty foods, cheeses, gelato and wines will tempt you at every turn.
Honest food, fresh from the farm. Saturdays through November, the Kingston Farmers’ Market is typical of local farm markets that are springing up across the state. Sample the bounty of freshly harvested and handcrafted foods from local farms, craft bakeries, restaurants and food specialties in Kingston’s grower/producer marketplace. Now in two locations.
For more information, visit the Hudson Valley region.