Twin Branch aims for Valentine’s Day reopening
Twin Branch Winery in Milton may reopen on Valentine’s Day, about 16 months after a seasonal shutdown became an indefinite closure while the company’s planned expansion sought unanticipated local and state approvals.
“Our goal, at this point, is hopefully to be open on Valentine’s Day,” said owner Shauna Thompson at Sussex County Council’s Jan. 28 meeting.
Council then voted 5-0 to approve a conditional use for the project to expand the winery into a wine tasting and events venue. No one spoke during a public comment period that preceded the vote.
The original plan to expand Twin Branch with a wine tasting and events venue ran into stumbling blocks when the state fire marshal’s office concluded it required a sprinkler system. The county also decided the project needed approval for a conditional use.
The Delaware Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner’s office, hearing of the other issues, suspended Twin Branch’s liquor license. The state agency confirmed in November that the license will be activated when it receives confirmation that all necessary local approvals have been issued.
Thompson said ABCC told her that it could inspect the operation within two days of receiving confirmation that Twin Branch had received approval from Sussex County. She expects this will clear the way for reopening on Valentine’s Day.
While Sussex County officials were criticized by some in the community for shutting down Twin Branch, the county noted that the state revoked the permit and the county had actually expedited the conditional-use process, saving the company a year in getting county approval.
The winery opened in 2023 and was expected to celebrate its one-year anniversary April 29, 2024.
A fire sprinkler system, and a water storage tank to provide water to it, were installed; the state fire marshal accepted the work as complete in June.
The events venue will be allowed to open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., although alcohol sales on Sundays will be limited to 6 p.m. by state law.
Twin Branch submitted a petition signed by 710 people in support of its application.
The winery is located on a 10-acre site adjacent to the 38.7-acre property that contains the wine tasting and events venue. The isolated site is part of a 539-ace farm off Saw Mill Road west of Milton.
“You’ve seen how isolated the property is, so there shouldn’t be any effect … on the neighbors, except maybe the deer, I guess,” Tim Willard, a lawyer representing the company, told council members.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
