36 RETAILER HALL OF FAME 2019 knocking at the back door. The tasting room for Glatz Wine Cellars operates out of the rear of Glatz Jewelers in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, a small town about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Though the winery began in 2000, Glatz’s roots in winemaking go way back. “People ask me how long I’ve been making wine. Longer than jewelry, I tell them,” he says, noting that his family has been making wine in Europe, mainly in Germany and France, for more than 200 years. It’s still a family affair for Glatz, who operates the winery and jewelry store—which opened in 1976—with his wife Marlene, and his sons, Aar- on (who makes the wine) and Dale (who repairs the jewelry). The vineyard is just a few miles away from the store, spanning six acres on the family’s farm in neighboring Hopewell Township. As with the Padises, the jeweler’s touch is apparent upon reading the wine list at Glatz, with bottles bearing names such as “Amethyst,” “Tanza- nite,” “Topaz” and “Chocolate Diamond.” The store and the winery flow seamlessly into each other. Customers often grab a glass to sample from the winery in the back, then step out onto the patio (located off the side of the store) to inspect potential jewelry purchases in the natural light. The winery also doubles as an event space for local charities and fundraisers, which, in turn, helps to bring more attention to the jewelry business. FROM SILICON TO NAPA VALLEY While jewelers-turned-vintners have uncorked an additional revenue stream that pairs nicely with their stores, a small-production winery comes with its own challenges, says Carole Lawson, CEO of the Salem, Oregon-based Craft Wine Association. Some of these challenges are unique to wine-making, while others will sound familiar to retailers, including: How do I entice people to buy what I’m selling? There are tools and algorithms available to get a ballpark figure on what it costs to open a winery, but Lawson suggests adding 20 to 30 percent on top of that, accounting for weather and operating requirements that can vary by state. Glatz estimates he sank about $250,000 into producing his first bottle. And, although the family has been making wine since 1980, it took the Glatzes years before they were able to sell their first bottle, due in part to Pennsylvania’s particularly strict alcohol laws. After an arduous licensing process, including sev- eral attempts at getting their bottle labels approved, the Glatzes began marketing their wine in 2007. Glatz once thought he would retire to his win- ery—a relaxing respite after years in the stressful world of retail—but has since thought better of it after learning first-hand what goes into the day-to-day operations of a vineyard. “It’s a lot of work, about 14 hours a day,” says Glatz, who relies on his son and master winemakerAaron and employees to do the manual labor. “There’s a fantasy about what it’s like,” says the CraftWine Association’s Lawson. “You don’t think about the pruning, the planting, the pests and the weather that can impact the pro- duction of the grapes themselves.” The biggest challenge to operating a winery, she says, is being realistic. One can buy a vineyard or buy grapes, press them, and bottle the wine with beautiful labels, but the real challenge is marketing it and getting people to buy it. Still, Lawson, who spent decades working in Silicon Valley before “flunking out of retirement” and starting the Craft Wine Association, under- stands what draws people from other industries to wine. “There is a romance about the wine industry,” she says, noting its similarity to jewelry in this way. “The marketers have done a great job of making it feel opulent and [giving it] a sense of having arrived.” —Fashion EditorAshley Davis contributed to this story. The Glatzes’ vineyard spans six acres on the family farm in Hopewell Township, just a few miles from their jewelry store in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. “PEOPLE ASK ME HOW LONG I’VE BEEN MAKING WINE. LONGER THAN JEWELRY, I TELL THEM.” —Tom Glatz, Glatz Jewelers and Glatz Wine Cellars