Winery Development On Tuesday's Southington PZC Agenda: UPDATE

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Those who love to brew their own beer and/or make their wine may soon have a place in Southington to purchase all their supplies.

Plainville-based Northeast Winemaking is looking to build a new facility at 1601 West St./Queen Street in Southington, with the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission taking up the project Tuesday, Aug. 20.

The PZC is expected to review and, possibly, act on a site plan application for the 10,640-square-foot development (one that will also feature a 6,080-square-foot expansion).

It meets at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 20, in the John Weichsel Municipal Center Assembly Room, 196 N. Main St.

The facility's application calls for a wine-making operation and a testing room.

Earlier this month, the Southington Conservation Commission and Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Agency unanimously approved a permit for the project, with the operation now requiring PZC approval.

At the Aug. 1 wetlands commission meeting, members easily said "yes" to a permit for the facility, one allowing for site work in a so-called "upland review area" and stormwater discharge permits.

This approval is a precursor for further town reviews, but it provided a public peek into what could be built at the 3-acre site, which is zoned industrial.

Severino Bovino, a planner at Milldale-based (Southington) Kratzert Jones and Associates and representing Northeast Winemaking, told the commission on Aug. 1 that the site is already served by public water and sewers.

Much of the presentation focused on technical aspects related to how the project would impact area wetlands and how runoff would be mitigated.

Plans for the actual construction would require further scrutiny and approvals from the PZC at a yet-to-be-determined time.

As for Northeast Wine Making, the business specializes in necessary supplies and ingredients for home wine-making and beer-brewing.

It also hosts classes to help folks learn how to brew their own beer and make their own wine.

Northeast Winemaking currently has an operation in nearby Plainville at 10 Robert Jackson Way, Plainville, and another, seasonal, site in the Boston, Mass., area.

It is not yet clear if Northeast Winemaking is moving its Plainville operations to Southington or if it is expanding into Southington.

Southington does border Plainville along the Interstate 84 corridor.

For the agenda of the Aug. 20 Southington Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, click on this link.

For the minutes of the Aug. 1 Southington Conservation Commission and Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Agency meeting, click on this link.

For more information about Northeast Winemaking, click on this link.