Glatz Wine Cellars
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Tom Glatz the jeweler became Tom Glatz the winemaker on a whim.??????????
It happened about 1980 when his wife came home from Pittsburgh with a tub of grape leaves, one of the main ingredients in making stuffed grape leaves. When Glatz heard the price — $60 — he knew he could grow better grape leaves for less money. The grapes were a bonus.???????????????
“Honestly, I’m really a farmer. I just really like growing things,” said Glatz, who has operated a jewelry business in Aliquippa since 1976.?????????????????
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That was the beginning of Glatz Wine Cellars, which is now a full-fledged family affair operating from the rear of Glatz Jewelers on Brodhead Road near Mill Street in Aliquippa.
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The initial planting of grape vines has blossomed over the years into a six-acre vineyard on the Glatz farm off Monaca Road in Hopewell Township. This year, the Center Township family expects to produce about 10,000 gallons of wine?. ?Nine varieties of red and white wines are currently available at the store, which features a tasting room and courtyard where patrons can take what they buy and enjoy it outside in warm weather. A bottle of wine ranges in price from $8 to $18.??? ??
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Tom’s son, Aaron, is the official winemaker. He also maintains the vineyard. Other family members, including Aaron’s parents, brother and sister, help out wherever they can.???? ?Aaron quit his job as an aircraft mechanic in Georgia several years ago to return home and start the winemaking business. It is a craft that has been handed down for 200 years in the Glatz family, which has its roots in winemaking regions of Germany. ?“People ask me when I started making wine,” Tom Glatz said. “I tell them I’ve always made wine, and my family’s been making it for 200 years.” ?Aaron, 29, has been making it for as long as he can remember. ?“When I was a kid, I didn’t know I was making wine when I was making wine,” he laughed. “We were doing it in the basement. For me, this is definitely a lot of fun.” ?But the homemade vintage was exclusively for family consumption.???????
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