by Mick McDowell, Miletta Vista Winery, St Paul, Nebraska
“Wine is only as complicated as you make it. Wine is fun and meant to be enjoyed, plain and simple. At the end of the day, all you need to enjoy wine is a wine opener and a glass”[1]. I would say that is a mostly right statement, and would add, that the right glass can and does make a big difference in the level of that enjoyment. Yet, the writer is correct; Wine is less complicated than it is made out to be.
So how do Nebraska wineries make it simpler for you?
First thing to remember is that Nebraska wines are not your mothers Chardonnay or your daddy’s Cabernet. Nor, should they try to be. Nebraska wines have new fruit forward flavors. After all Nebraska wines are made from a new type of grape, Cold Climate Grapes, (CCG). You’ll find that great Nebraska made wines have balance and fruit forward flavors; And NO, not all Nebraska wines are sugar bombs.
Some wineries purposefully make dry wines, that’s their niche, their preference, their desire, their druthers, their preferred wine making style.
How would you know what style of wine is in the bottle if the winemaker or their representative isn’t there to tell you. Well, if the label doesn’t tell you before spending $20, it should. But how? The Uniform-Nebraska-Wine-Sweetness Rating, that’s how.
All Nebraska wineries have had the NWSR playbook for tagging the bottles with since 2021. So, if you don’t see it on every Nebraska Wine label, ask them where it is. With the rating on the label, you’re not shooting in the dark before spending $20-$30. With the rating on the bottle, at least you have a real chance of coming close to the Nebraska wine sweetness you prefer.
Over the years Miletta Vista has worked hard to not only bring you premium wines for bargain prices and by that, I mean wines capable of scoring in the upper 80’s to upper 90’s in pts for less than the $75-$95 per bottle you find similar quality wines priced at in NAPA Valley.
So, yes, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m on a crusade to encourage each and every Nebraska winery to post the Nebraska Wine Sweetness Rating (NWSR), but only the consumer can make it happen by asking each winery to make the NWSR part of their labeling routine. It will make your selection of wine much easier then next time you are looking for a Nebraska wine, (other than Miletta).
[1]10 Things You Should Know About Wine, Wine 101, In Good Taste, #9 on the list.