Judge rules against local winery
- Place:Myrddin Winery
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3020 Scenic Ave., Berlin Center, OH


Judge John Durkin listens to testimony - Terrance Tate, whose confession was suppressed by the 7th District Court of Appeals, 8:30 a.m. The prosecution is appealing the suppression to the Ohio Supreme Court. Tate faces the death penalty.
Ninety-five percent of the wine sold by the winery is made from grapes grown elsewhere, the judge said.
YOUNGSTOWN — Though it grows some of its own grapes on the premises, a Lake Milton winery cannot validly claim that its operation qualifies as an agricultural land use that is exempted from township zoning regulations, a judge has ruled.
Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court issued his ruling Friday in a dispute concerning the Myrddin Winery, which occupies a residentially zoned site in Milton Township.
“I’m very pleased,” said Mark S. Finamore, the township’s lawyer. “I believe the decision is a very sound legal decision.”
The winery, whose fate is now in limbo, has 30 days to file a notice of appeal of Judge Durkin’s decision with the 7th District Court of Appeals in Youngstown.
A visitor to the rustic winery, nestled in a wooded setting on a bluff overlooking Lake Milton, and featuring a path to its own lakefront dock, would hardly envision the winery as a controversial business embroiled in a court battle for its very survival.
But its neighbors, one of whom has prominently erected a sign urging “Winos go home,” have complained about the winery’s traffic and retail activity in a residential neighborhood.
Based on those objections, Jenifer Terry, township zoning inspector, sought a court order barring continued operation of the winery.
In her legal complaint, Terry said the winery is a business whose operation in a residential neighborhood is prohibited by the township’s zoning resolution.
The zoning inspector filed the complaint against Gayle K. Sperry, who operates the winery at her residence at 3020 Scenic Ave., just off Southeast River Road.
Sperry maintained that her winery, which opened in May 2005, is an agricultural land use, which, under Ohio law, is exempt from township zoning regulations.
But Judge Durkin ruled that the winery is not an agricultural land use as defined in state law and that the winery is not exempt from township zoning regulations.
“It is unreasonable to suggest that planting 20 grape vines can transform an otherwise residential lot into a winery business under the guise that the land is being used for agricultural purposes,” Judge Durkin wrote. “Surely, the legislature did not intend such a result,” he added.
“Ninety-five percent of the wine sold by the Myrrdin Winery is not made from grapes cultivated or harvested on the property,” the judge noted in his ruling.
Sperry declined to comment, and her Medina lawyers could not be reached.
Finamore said he would discuss legal options with the township trustees, including reaching an agreement with Sperry to limit, but not completely close, winery operations, pending the outcome of an appeal by the winery.
Finamore also said Judge Durkin or the appeals court could issue a stay of any township order to close the winery, thereby letting the business function pending its appeal.
With winter approaching, Finamore concluded: “The weather is going to curtail most of the activity the neighbors are complaining about,” especially the traffic.