Nectar (Wine) Maker Profession

Nectar (Wine) Maker Profession

Nectar making is a skill that was added in The Sims 3: World Adventures that allows your Sims to make nectar, which is the equivalent of wine in the world of The Sims -- it is odd that they avoid having a declared alcohol in the game considering that they have sex and all but there you have it...  Actually if we are technical here, they do not come right out and say that Nectar is not alcoholic, but the alternate name choice sort of suggests that.  But we prefer to think of it as wine and the fact that children in the game are not allowed to drink it, that sort of supports the idea that it is what it is.

-- Acquiring Nectar Making Skills --

Your first step in learning to make Nectar is to head to Champs Les Sims, France, where you can visit the Vineyard and purchase the items that are required for the making of it or you can learn how as part of one of the missions that you can encounter there.  Either way you end up using the Vineyard's equipment to make your first few batches, but you can buy your own kit at the Vineyard and take that home with you so that you can make it there too!

There are three skill books for Nectar Making from level 1-10 that are available at the Circle of Knowledge Bookstore in Champs Les Sims and we strongly recommend that you buy and read them first.   The reason for that recommendation is that getting your skill higher is an absolute requirement no matter which path you are choosing -- there are two, the first is making Nectar for your Sims to drink, and the second is making it to sell, and both paths have their own specific requirements and are heavily dependent upon skills.

The Professional Vintner brings Vintage Nectar to the Sim World

The best nectar for drinking is made from perfect fruits only, while Nectar made for selling requires more than just perfect ingredients, since the final value of your Nectar is subject to ingredient quality, ingredient rarity, and your skill level.

There is some argument as to whether aging of Nectar makes it better, or whether more expensive Nectar is better than less expensive, so you will have to make up your own mind on that matter...  Note that while this is a guide for World Adventures, which is the expansion in which the craft of Nectar making was introduced, in Ambitions your Sims can be declared Nectar makers as a profession, we are just saying...

So to recap, the basic skills for this non-traditional profession are obtained in a a few ways:

(1) Travel to France and take a lesson in Nectar Making at the Vineyard;

(2) Read the book set purchased from the Bookstore in France; the three books allow you to master the skill of Nectar Making from the comfort of your own chair or couch!

(3) Simply grab some fruit and try to turn it into wine using the wine making kit.. Err, Nectar!  Sorry, Nectar making kit.


Helpful Traits:  Ambitious, Charismatic, Friendly

-- Career Levels/Titles and Details --

There are ten Levels for this non-traditional career, and listed below are the levels and their titles.  One of the first things that you will want to do once you have acquired the skill in making this wonderful beverage is to register yourself as a self-employed Vintner and Nectar Maker, so that you accrue all of the benefits that come with that status!

Level 01: Grape Kicker
Level 02: Tastebud Nullifier ($30)
Level 03: Nectar Taster ($75)
Level 04: Bottle Label Designer ($150)
Level 05: Nectar Maker's Assistant ($250)
Level 06: Ascendant Juicer ($1000)
Level 07: High-Quality Nectar Pairer ($5000)
Level 08: Chief of the Nectar Grounds ($9000)
Level 09: Nectar Bottle Distributor ($14000)
Level 10: Master Nectar Craftsman ($25000)

Once you register you can take pride in the knowledge that you have established a local source for the beverage that is used to celebrate everything from birthdays and anniversaries to weddings and even a perfect meal!


-- Making the Good Stuff --

To make really high-quality Nectar you really need to grow and use the best and freshest ingredients, and that means you need to be an expert at Gardening and collect the best and the rarest seeds you can manage.  The reason for this is because the best nectar depends heavily on the fruit used as the ingredients, as well as the alternate ingredients if you are prone to experimentation.

Determining the base-value for a particular vintage of Nectar is based upon taste of the Nectar, though bear in mind that taste really has very little relation to effect of the beverage -- that is to say that a very valuable and great tasting Nectar may not have as high a moodlet effect as a less expensive vintage.

It's better to start out with the special rarity of fruit and experiment from there.  The recipes below have proven value and effect, and which has been widely verified by The Sim community and are widely published online -- so these are good staring points for you:

Recipe 1: 9 Life Fruit, 1 Pomegranate
Recipe 2: 7 Life Fruit, 2 Flame Fruit, 1 Plum
Recipe 3: 7 Life Fruit, 2 Flame Fruit, 1 Watermelon
Recipe 4: 8 Flame Fruit, 2 Cherry
Recipe 5: 5 Life Fruit, 5 Cranerlet Nuala

When a new batch of nectar is ready, an assessment of how good (or bad) the flavor is gets displayed, so you can decide whether that vintage is one you want to cellar or not...   Consider that each fruit has a base flavor value and that is factored into the flavor combinations in determining the results, so some experimentation is a good idea, but you can also Google for known good recipes since there is a very large community within the game who factor themselves Nectar Makers!

Note that you can make Nectar that has a function as well -- like extending lifespan -- from the following recipe: 6 Life Fruit, 3 Flame Fruit, 1 random fruit, which will improve all moodlets as well as reduce your Sim's age.

-- Nectar Making Levels and Abilities --

Level 0 Basic Nectar.
Level 4 Concentrated     Nectar (Higher Quality).
Level 7 Mass Produce Nectar Vintages (Lower Quality).
Level 9 Extended Nectaration Nectar ( 15% Quality and takes a little longer to produce).

-- Nectar Challenges --

Flavorful Feet
Completed after squishing 40 batches of fruit -- rewards you by increasing the value of the Nectar made by you.

Master of Nectar Making
Completed by making 200 bottles of Nectar - rewards you by allowing you to make more bottles per batch.

Mix Master
Completed by making 15 different Nectar combinations -- your reward is your Sim being able to predict a Nectar recipe's final quality before making it.

The Wizard of Vine
Completed by turning 400 bunches of homegrown grapes into Nectar -- rewards you by making all of the grapevine varieties grown by you yield more grapes.


-- Aging Your Nectar --

While we should point out -- as we did before -- that the question as to whether aging improves the effects or tastes of Nectar is an open one, there is no question that it increases the value of it.  To increase nectar once you have created and bottled it, it must be aged in nectar racks, preferably in a basement.

The serious professional Vintner will construct a cellar that is not connected to their house -- in fact the best approach is to build the cellar and then build the Nectary on top of it as a stand-alone facility.  This serves a number of purposes, not the least being to separate your Sim's work from their life, as well as create an artisan atmosphere around their profession.  And it looks cool too :)

Once you have your cellar built and your Nectary on top, you then install the kit and hardware that you use to make your Nectar and, in the cellar, you install the racks.  You want to take care in selecting the right racks by the way -- the expensive Necteaux rack will age nectar faster than the cheaper Flavor Savor Nectar Rack -- but as long as your racks are placed in a basement the Nectar stored in them gains around 10% value per day anyway.  Still we are talking Nectar here, so why spare the expense?

If you have any favored recipes or you ones you have found beneficial that you want to share, please feel invited to email them to the author!