Reid’s Orchard and Winery is a family-owned and operated business that includes a fruit farm located at 2135 Buchanan Valley Road in Orrtanna, as well as Reid’s Winery Tasting Room and Cider House located at 400 Baltimore St in downtown Gettysburg.
“We are farmers first. The most important part of our business is growing high quality food. We run farmers’ markets located in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Virginia,” said Philip Keating, a cider maker and operations manager at Reid’s. “Most of the fruit usually goes down to these markets, but the rest we bring back home and make cider and wine out of it.”
Owner and proprietor Dave Reid purchased the Buchanan Valley land in 1976. Since then, he has been farming, expanding, and improving the land by planting a multitude of fruits, including apples, peaches, and multiple species of berries and grapes. All these fruits are well acclimated to the humid hills of Pennsylvania.
The farm is now managed by Dave Reid, his nephew Mark, Keating, and a family of eight from Mexico, who come to Adams County to work the farm. While Reid’s may be known for wine and cider, it is fueled by a strong farming tradition.
“We do a lot of small batches. We don’t mass produce anything,” said Keating. For instance, if one year strawberries do not sell as well as they did before, then we have a lot of left-over strawberries and we will make a wine or cider out of them. The farm supports the winery, but since 2014, the winery has really started to hold its own legs out.”
Keating said about 22 acres of the farm are dedicated to wine grapes (mostly French and Italian varietals). This area of the farm is in a unique location at the tail end of the Appalachian mountains, and on an incline, creating different microclimates all along the hill. These conditions allow growing fruits that normally can’t survive in the area. For example, Reid’s can farm Malbec, a red wine grape that is usually only prominent in South America, France, and some areas of California.
The Gettysburg winery offers a variety of wines. On the “dry and heavy” side, is “Reid’s Red,” a blend of Cab Franc and Syrah. “Jennie’s House White” and “Front Porch” are examples of sweeter wines, and there is also a selection of fruit wines and sweet blends.
In addition to wine, Reid makes many ciders. In a limited release, the “Apple Crisp,” a sweet cider made with honey crisp apples, makes an appearance on the shelves this year for the first time in several years.
“We make anything from your bone-dry European style, pure apple, and nothing else ciders to your Americanized very sweet ciders, and everything in between,” said Keating. “The importance of having a local farm is that our customers can know where these products are coming from.”
Reid’s Orchard and Winery has recently added a new partner, Clawson’s at the Cider House. With this addition, Reid’s adds food to its list of products, while staying true to their farming tradition. Clawson’s provides “farm to fork” plates. The Clawsons owned two successful restaurants in Nashville, Tennessee. Unfortunately, they were negatively impacted by Covid, prompting them to shut down and seek “a fresh start” in Pennsylvania.
Renting a small kitchen from Reid’s, “They are producing some of the most incredible food I have ever had, and they make it look effortless,” said Keating.
While financial fluidity is important to a business’s success, Keating suggests that the community engagement is the most rewarding part of working at Reid’s.
“It’s about sitting back, in the garden, when I’m off shift, and hearing people speaking about the cider. It’s always good to make a quality product, but it’s even better to hear people speak candidly about how good the cider is,” said Keating.
Reid’s Orchard and Winery is open Monday through Thursday from 12:00 p.m. -6:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 12:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m., and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. -8:00 p.m.. Clawson’s at the Cider house is open from 12:00 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
My name is Zion Williams. I am from Glenn Dale, Maryland, but attended high school at Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC. I am a current sophomore at Gettysburg College pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Cinema and Media Studies with minors in Writing and Spanish. I am a member of the Gettysburg Men's Soccer Program.
Additionally, I work in the Gettysburg Special Projects Film/Television division, as well as the Gettysburg Athletic Communications Department. I am excited to connect with and learn more about the members of the Gettysburg community.
Great Article! Have to add Reid’s to my bucket list when I come to gettysburg again!
I really enjoyed this article, Zion. Thanks for your work – and continued success to you at Gettysburg College!