“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 simply a wine opener and a glass”[1].  Yes and No.   I would say, that the right glass can and does make a difference, but the writer is correct; Wine is less complicated than it is often 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 they are made from a new type of grape, Cold Climate Grapes, (CCG).  Well-made Nebraska wines have fruit forward flavors and NO, not all Nebraska wines are sugar bombs.

Some wineries purposefully make dry wines, because that is their niche, their preference, their desire, their druthers, and preferred style selection.  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 their label at least you have a chance of coming close to the wine sweetness you prefer.  Then, you’re not shooting in the dark hoping you spending $20 wisely on that Nebraska wine.

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.