Finley Creek Vineyards celebrates its first year

Lots of fun summer festivities are happening at Finley Creek Vineyards, now celebrating our first year!

Fans of Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering are happy to host their wedding receptions, family reunions, corporate retreats, and holiday parties in a lovely, rustic setting just 20 minutes from Indy’s Northwest side in Zionsville.

As the private special event venue for Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering, the Finley Creek grounds are just as well appointed and lovely as you would expect for a facility we own.

The main interior Party Barn is definitely a ‘wow!’ The space is plenty large enough for up to 300, but with the lovely flower and vegetable gardens and large oak trees along the rolling countryside just outside the barn, groups are just as happy to enjoy the outside as they do our inside – especially this time of year.

The barn walls are covered with reclaimed rustic barn wood. Tall windows let in lots of natural light. And large wrought iron and crystal chandeliers hang from the rafters. The result is as the retro chic and first-class – oozing with warmth and charm.

Owner Jacquie Bols wants every meal cooked and prepared to perfection – right on site. The staff of Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering takes care to prepare sustainable and organic foods, some grown in our gardens, and all prepared in our state-of-the-art kitchen on premises.

Just outside the Finley Creek Barn are hand-hewn cedar and pine porch tables for casual dining outside. A little farther away is a much-used fire pit, plus pergola and patio surrounded by flowers, perfect for weddings.

And yes, as our name suggests, there is a working vineyard in progress. We planted last past year and hope to harvest our first grapes in a few more seasons. Stay tuned!

Outside or inside – or both –Finley Creek Vineyards is a stunning place for your next event. It’s not too soon to book fall and holiday events!

 

 

Barn weddings & outdoor receptions are here to stay

There’s something breathtakingly romantic about timeworn wooden planks and high vaulted ceilings strung with electric lights and crystal chandeliers hanging between the rafters…

The popularity of barn weddings continues to gain momentum with couples looking for a memorable casual-rustic experience. Barn wedding parties can be as casual and country, or as lavish and extravagant as a couple wants it to be. They are no longer limited to DIY chalkboard signs, mason jars and garden flowers.

Today, barn weddings are a blank canvas where couples can get creative and set a tone based on individual preferences. The diamond-in-the-rough characteristics that come with a care-worn barn allows brides a perfect backdrop to design a wedding that is an authentic reflection of the couple.

Finley Creek Vineyard is the perfect country chic setting for a lovely barn wedding and/or reception. When Finley Creek gets all dressed up for a wedding party, something magical happens. The setting sun peeks through the rustic barn wood here and there. The serenity of the Zionsville countryside is palpable through soft breezes, birdsong, and the sweet smell of wild flowers from across the fields…

and Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering artfully prepares sustainable, farm-to-table gourmet foods, from appetizers to desserts… the aromas pulling all comers in for seconds and thirds.

Finley Creek Vineyards - Indianapolis wedding and event venue

We fully embrace couples making a statement with their individual styles. You’ll find no cookie-cutter weddings here. Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering creates a culinary experience for their guests, and our brides and grooms love it! They really want their friends and family to have fun. And that comes naturally within the barn setting with fire pits, outdoor spaces for yard games, lovely wild flowers growing on nearby hills, and newly planted grape vineyards on the horizon.

There is just something about attending a Finley Creek Vineyard barn wedding that tells guests they are going to have a good time! We hope you will come join us for a tour and see what we mean.

~ The Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering team, Exclusive          caterers for Finley Creek Vineyards

 

Every day is Earth Day at Finley Creek Vineyards!

This month’s Earth Day celebration (Sunday, April 22nd) is all about honoring our planet by celebrating the amazing diversity of life around our lovely state and beyond, and getting in touch with nature’s bounty.

It’s also about protecting our environment through education, recycling, and support of sustainable, environmentally sound practices, as we do at Finley Creek Vineyards.

Owned and run by Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering, Finley Creek Vineyards supports responsible Indiana farms by purchasing from sustainable and non-GMO, organic farmers across the state. We use locally sourced organic meats from Indiana farmers as much as we possibly can, too.

The Buff Oprington

Jacquie Bols, owner of Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering, is a fan of sustainable farm-to-table, environmentally conscious practices. “Not only does organic, sustainably raised meat and produce have a superior taste,” says Jacquie, “but the practice supports responsible farmers who choose to raise their crops and animals sustainably rather than mass-produce them on factory farms.”

And now that Finley Creek Vineyards raises several breeds of chickens, we have a steady supply of organic, all natural chicken right in our own backyard. Fresh eggs, too.

Since we recycle at Finley Creek, you’ll notice we never use plastic stirrers or straws at our events. No plastic plates or cups either.

As a part of that sustainability, we recently added three bee colonies to the grounds of our Finley Creek Vineyards. As the hybrid bees get settled in, they will be pollinating produce and flowers on nearby Zionsville farms, as well as producing honey for us. Our plan is to use the honey for baking, and eventually, we will offer it for purchase.

Our next addition to Finley Creek will be Tea Cup pigs, which will eat leftover food from our events (lucky pigs!)

“I’m confident I’m giving my customers safe, quality food,” Jacquie continued. “That’s something that’s incredibly important to me, and I believe it’s something my clients value and support as well.”

Celebrate the earth and sustainability with us every day, and with every event -- at Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering and Finley Creek Vineyards.

 

 

 

Finley Creek is buzzing with excitement!

Russian hybrid bees are the newest fans of Finley Creek Vineyards, the lovely destination for Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering parties.

Located in Zionsville at 795 S. US 421, Finley Creek is charming, romantic, rustic, and the perfect place to host a wedding reception, family reunion, company picnic or corporate retreat.

It’s also the perfect place to start a colony of Russian hybrid bees, and we’re all a-buzz about our new residents!

Our Russian honeybees (Apis mellifera) originated from the Primorshky Krai region of Russia. The strain was imported into the United States in 1997 in response to severe declines in bee populations caused by infestations of parasitic mites. Russian honeybees are resistant to mites, so the bees have hybridized with American honeybees and improved American bee colonies, resulting in healthier bees, and producing more honey.

When you visit Finley Creek’s grounds, you’ll notice we have added three vertical stackable-framed hives.

These lovely handmade wooden hives are a sort of honeybee brood nest, where our Russian hybrids will congregate, take care of their families, and produce honey. This type of framed hive simplifies honey collection since a “box” of honey can be removed from the stack without upsetting the bees in the entire hive.

Will our bees bother our guests? Absolutely not. They are way too busy working to pollinate the flowers and vegetable plants nearby – (and hopefully very soon, our vineyard flowers.)

It takes a lot of bee energy to produce honey, too. You’ll see we have placed our hives in the back of our extensive property. Our bee keepers will be able to access the honey our bees produce later this season. We’ll be using the honey in our farm-to-table organic baking. We can’t wait for you to taste the results!

Our hope is that as our bee colony succeeds and grows, we will be able to sell our all-natural, locally produced Finley Creek honey and honey-made desserts to the public.

Bee on the lookout for interesting bee updates from Finley Creek Vineyards!