MORAVIA – More than 250 people attended the first annual Honey Creek Resort Wine, Jazz and Brew event Saturday, March 14. 

The event featured 17 Iowa wineries and breweries. Vendors featured included Fireside Winery (Marengo), Grape Escape Vineyard and Winery (Pleasantville), Heartland Harvest Winery (Fort Madison), Johnson Brothers (Des Moines), La Vida Loca (Indianola), Rock Bottom Brewery (Des Moines), Rosey Acres Winery (Runnells), Snus Hill Vineyard and Winery (Madrid), Southern Hills Winery (Osceola), Summerset Winery (Indianola), Tabor Home Vineyard and Winery (Baldwin), Tassel Ridge Winery (Leighton), Templeton Rye Whiskey (Templeton), Whispering Hills Vineyard (Carson), Prairie Winery (Ames), Granite City Brewery (Ellsworth) and the Iowa Home Brewers Association.

Each winery and brewery featured several products for tasting, while jazz band Ashanti (Pella) performed in the grand ballroom. Several hundred bottles of wine were purchased at the event.

Due to the success of the Jazz, Wine and Brew event, Honey Creek Resort is currently planning a two-day wine festival on March 12-13, 2010 with a smaller wine event tentatively set for Nov. 21.

On Saturday, the Lakeshore Grille, located at the resort, served more than 620 people in the restaurant, marking the most since the resort opened in late September of last year.

During a recent spring break package promotion at the resort, the 105-room hotel has averaged over 90 percent occupancy for two consecutive weeks. The resort is also seeing a lot of interest in the cabins, which are slated to open June 1. The 28 cabins are currently over 70 percent reserved for the month of July.

For more information, visit www.honeycreekresort.com or call 1-877-677-3344.