Business Profile: Adams County Winery

Located 8 miles west of Gettysburg in Orrtanna, Adams County Winery is the fifth oldest operating winery in the state and the largest in southern Pennsylvania. The winery’s 12.5 acre vineyard produces eight varieties of award-winning white and red grapes which are blended into a selection of standard, small batch, and seasonal wines.

Owned by Katherine Bigler, the Orrtanna farm winery opened in 1975, and the business has now expanded into their Gettysburg Wine Shop on the Lincoln Square in Gettysburg.

barn 2019 compressed

In addition to regular musical events and activities, the farm winery features the outdoor Terrace Bistro, providing guests with food accompaniments including wood fired pizzas to pair with the wines of their choosing.  The Bistro will reopen for the summer on May 8 and the winery will again have free live music and events this year.

Public relations director Melissa Roth describes the farm as “…almost an escape, it is always the winery’s intention to create an environment to enjoy wine for everybody; a way to step away and relax and enjoy a great glass of wine.”

Safety concerns have forced the winery to temporarily suspend its tours and tastings, but both locations offer flight options that allow guests to take their award winning wines – including Rebel Red, Tears of Gettysburg, Yankee Blue, Black Magic, and Riesling — to a table to enjoy at their leisure.

“We have a safety team that determined that safety of employees and customers were first, so safety was always at the forefront. We took the pandemic as an opportunity to try new things, such as our first online wine release, which took place last spring and was a great success,” said Roth.

Despite the setbacks of the pandemic, Adams County Winery is still looking to expand. Roth said the winery was in the process of building an expansion on the back of the building which will double the size of the wine-making area.

Roth said the winery was also pet friendly. “The winery has always had winery dogs. Rusty was our winery dog and now we have released a wine that is named after him,” she said.

But pets aren’t the only wildlife that a visitor to the Adams County Farm Winery might encounter. Retail manager Dan Baumgardner said the lush gardens that surround the bistro are “very popular and teeming with butterflies and hummingbirds to add to the atmosphere.” 

Overall, Roth describes the winery as “A relaxing place where visitors can just enjoy wine. We have history in the community and have been here for years.”

“We can guarantee it is a safe, friendly environment with a very knowledgeable staff and always with new wines to try,” said Baumgardner.

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Chas helped launch and then served as vice president of his high school's first-ever mock trial club and also worked on the school newspaper and debate club. Chas has volunteered as referee in children’s sports and served as an assistant high school basketball coach. He has had many stories published in local news websites. Chas is interested in a variety of subjects including American History, Constitutional Law, and Sports Studies.

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