COPLEY, Ohio — An early-morning explosion at the Winery at Wolf Creek in Copley on May 30 resulted in heavy damage to a structure housing the distillery, according to Michael Benson, captain of the Copley Fire Department.

 

According to the winery’s website, it was established in 1980 by Andrew Wineberg and purchased by Andrew and Deanna Troutman in 2002. Troutman had worked for Wineberg as vineyard manager following his graduation from The Ohio State University. The Troutmans also own Troutman Winery in Wooster. Benson said in addition to making wine, the Troutmans added a distillery they use to produce brandy. He said the distilling process is a sensitive and dangerous undertaking.

Multiple fire departments responded, including Copley, Bath, Fairlawn, Norton, Sharon, Wadsworth, Granger, Richfield, Chippewa and Valley.

“Our teams did an excellent job of containing the fire and keeping if from going further,” Benson said. “In addition to the distillery, the fire also destroyed a party room/tasting area above the distillery. But there were no injuries to the owner or their employees.”

He said that in addition to damaging the equipment and destroying the building, the owners also lost product including brandy and wine that were stored in the building.

Benson said Andy Troutman had been in the distillery area just moments before the explosion to turn on the machine and returned to the office for a cup of coffee. He said had the timing been different, the situation would have been much worse.

“Stills are inherently dangerous,” explained Benson. “But this is an agricultural product, so they fall under the Ohio Department of Agriculture for inspections, as opposed to other types of structures which are subject to building, mechanical and fire codes.”

The fire and explosion are still under investigation and no cause or damage estimate was available at press time. Efforts to contact the Troutmans for comment were not successful.