Glades Pike Winery
by
Kathy Sullivan
Summary: Enjoy a visit to Glades Pike Winery in Somerset, Pennsylvania not far from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Taste a variety of types of wines from dry to sweet. Food plates are also available for purchase. Browse the creative items made by local artists. If you are looking for a place to host an event, check out Glades Pike Winery.
We arrived at Glades Pike Winery in the late morning where we discovered a dark green, long, one-story building. The tasting room is located on the far end of the facility while a large banquet room is at the other end. A large balcony wraps around the building on two sides, while the length of the balcony overlooks the vineyard.
The tasting room is large, with plenty of space to walk and browse the tastefully arranged products, including numerous local artists’ goods. We enjoyed browsing the hand painted wine glasses, the birdhouse made of wine corks, raw honey, Apple Butter, Banana Mustard and more.
Glades Pike Winery started in 1995 and was the result of a MBA project by Steve Addleman. Steve had to come up with a viable business plan. He chose a winery. Karen and Steve Addleman were members of a wine club. Together the Addlemans and some of the wine club members helped to create the winery. The winery originally started in a small barn about a mile away. After the owners moved to the current location, they were able to expand the business. Today Steve and Karen own the winery.
The vineyard on the property is small with 400 to 500 Diamond variety grapevines. Somerset, Pennsylvania is located in an area with short summers and unpredictable snows and frosts, often detrimental to growing grapes. The Addlemans source most of their grapes from Erie, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Currently, Glades Pike produces 7,500 cases. We met Joshua Hetrick, Glades Pike winemaker, who likes the process of taking from the earth to making the wine. Josh said that 65 percent of the wine is sold from the tasting room. The winery also sells wine at festivals and outlet stores. Josh wants consumers to know that the winery makes quality dry wines in addition to sweeter wines.
Wines
Glades Pike Winery offers a large portfolio of wines including dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, sweet and fruit/dessert wines. Norton 2009 was produced with grapes sourced from Middleburg, Virginia. The wine was a dark purple with an aroma and taste of dark fruits. The finish was crisp and fruit forward with tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 was a ruby color with an aroma of tobacco and a taste of dark fruit and tobacco. The finish had spices and tannins. Petit Verdot was made with fruit from Winchester, Virginia. The dark ruby wine had an aroma of dark fruit notes. The taste was of dark fruit with a touch of tobacco. The crisp finish was fruity with tannins. Zinfandel 2010, made with fruit from Lodi, California, was a dark ruby color. The aroma and taste offered notes of dark fruit especially black cherries. The fruity finish had chewy tannins.
Seyval Blanc, a light yellow, had citrus with a touch of tropical notes on the aroma and taste. The fruit was sourced from North East, Pennsylvania. Mountain Mead was yellow with an aroma of honeysuckle. The taste was crisp and refreshing with a long honey aftertaste.
Events
Private and public events take place at Glades Pike Winery. The large banquet room can hold 250 guests. The facility is available for wedding receptions, birthday parties, showers and business meetings. Wedding ceremonies can take place in the gazebo just to the side of the vineyard.
We enjoyed our visit to Glades Pike Winery near Somerset, Pennsylvania.
Glades Pike Winery
2208 Glades Pike
Somerset, Pennsylvania 15501
GPS: N40º 01.620’ W79º 11.913’
