US; Rebuilding of St. Paul winery another hopeful note for industry in Nebraska, Iowa

(Omaha) - On a dry summer night last year, a storm with 50 mph winds howled across the Nebraska prairie.

Mick McDowell woke after 1 a.m. and noticed gusts had shifted the patio furniture outside the apartment he and his wife, Loretta, shared under Miletta Vista Winery, the hobby-turned-business they built together and named by combining their first names. Soon, McDowell fell back asleep.

An hour later, he was roused by his phone ringing and someone banging on the apartment door. He picked up the phone and heard: “Mick! You and Loretta have got to get out. The back of the winery's on fire.”

Six fire departments put out the fire suspected of starting when an ember escaped from a trash fire. The fire had moved into a storage area of cardboard boxes and into the winery's attic, resulting in a total loss of the winery and damaging most of the apartment and personal belongings.

It didn't, however, take away the McDowells' dream of owning and operating their wine business. They've spent the last year rebuilding Miletta Vista Winery, which is about 25 miles north of Grand Island, and last week resumed business hours. They're planning a grand reopening for next month.

Miletta Vista is one of 27 wineries licensed with the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission in an industry that just 10 years ago had four wineries licensed. The industry here is growing enough that, in December, the Nebraska Winery and Grape Growers Association hired Jennifer Montgomery, its first full-time executive director.