Altum’s Garden Center looking into move next door to Finley Creek Vineyards

Altum’s Garden Center is temporarily closing later this month to begin the huge undertaking of moving from their present location to larger quarters.

They are hoping for a permit to move next door to us here at Finley Creek – and are currently working through this permitting process. If all goes well and the move is approved, this could mean much more space for Altum’s Garden Center, plus more room to grow in the future.

Finley Creek Vineyards if hopeful that they and Altum’s Garden Center may soon be neighbors, knowing both of our organizations share a passion for sustainable gardening, respect for the earth, and a mutual appreciation of nature. If the move is approved, we’ll be tapping our wonderful new neighbors on the shoulder to help us beautify our perimeter gardens and perhaps add a little new landscaping in the near future.

We’re also looking forward to having the Altum’s Garden Center folks as occasional event partners along with Jacquie's Gourmet Catering. With their open public gardens and our large event space, we hope to be able join forces to co-host events.

And of course, the Jacquie's Gourmet Catering team hopes to be catering Altum's grand re-opening this fall. Stay tuned!

For more information, checkout the Altum’s Garden Center online or on Facebook. And of course, come out and visit Finley Creek Vineyards as the destination for your next event.

 

 

 

 

Outdoor venues like Finley Creek Vineyards are safer and greener for summer/fall events

As we carefully edge toward establishing a “new normal,” where does that leave you when you have a wedding reception, fundraiser, party, or corporate event to schedule?

One of the safer places to have any kind of event this summer and fall is outside. Social distancing is easier, the air is fresh and clean, and the outdoors provides some of Mother Nature’s freshest, greenest and glorious backdrops.

Finley Creek Vineyards in Zionsville is an idyllic place for weddings and all kinds of special occasions. Besides the rustic Wedding Barn, Finley Creek Vineyards has five expansive acres of tranquil gardens, majestic trees, flowering shrubs, wildflowers, and of course, a vineyard.

It also offers all the luxurious and modern features and style you’d expect from a first class venue. Inside, there is a huge fireplace, chandeliers, reclaimed wood tables, and large windows to let in as much natural light as possible.

Outside, you can go casual or upscale with a wedding arbor, gazebo, stone fireplace, and plenty of room for outdoor seating for ceremonies, receptions and events of all kinds.

And, because Finley Creek Vineyards is owned by Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering, you are going to please every guest with plentiful offerings of delicious, sustainably grown/humanely raised, Indiana farm-fresh foods -- from your first appetizer to your last bite of luscious dessert.

There’s a lot to like about Finley Creek Vineyards – especially as we plan ahead for healthy, socially conscientious events. Let’s talk about your next event and make it a delicious, safe and memorable time!

 

 

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!

 

The lovely wines in Finley Creek’s future

Now that Finley Creek Vineyard is open for business and accepting bookings for Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering parties, we’re getting quite a few questions about when we plan to plant our grape vineyards, and when we will be producing our own wines.

The plan is to begin planting grapes early in Spring 2018. We are still doing research on what types of grapes do best in Indiana, and how long each varietal needs before it is mature enough to pick the first grapes for processing. (We are even considering devoting our vineyards to grapes that support making port wines!)

Obviously, we are still in the planning stages, but we can tell you that we plan to plant both white and red varietals. We will also import some types of grapes from other regions of the U.S. to mix with our varietals to provide a nice robust flavor to our forthcoming wines.

In general, however, it will take about three years minimum for any type of grape to be ready to produce enough to manufacture wine and/or ports. Until then, we will be researching Indiana-friendly grapes, climate, weather, topography, and soil composition in order to produce the best possible vines and for our future Finley vintages.

In the meantime, we are focusing on our lovely new venue and booking great indoor and outdoor events for 2018. Those visiting Finley Creek Vineyard are finding our building a lovely mix of rustic and contemporary – with plenty of space to host elegant wedding receptions as well as more business-y corporate events.

And – since Zionsville is a destination spot, and Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering is known for getting all the details (especially the yummy ones), done right, Finley Creek Vineyard has already begun to make it’s mark.

Stay tuned for more wine news in 2018!