JIM SHAW
It should come as no surprise that 1979 UNO graduate Jim Shaw has emerged as one of Nebraska’s most notable vintners. He’s been at the game for some time — even when he shouldn’t have been. When he was just 13, Shaw whipped up a batch of apple wine, buying five one-gallon jugs of apple cider and letting it ferment in his bedroom. “My mom found it in the closet and she busted me,” he recalls with a laugh. Another time, Shaw found mulberries in nearby woods mashed them and let them ferment in a Coke bottle with a balloon on top. Not vintage, perhaps, but wine nonetheless. These days, Shaw produces award-winning wines — and now brews — as owner of Soaring Wings Vineyard & Brewing. The venture follows Shaw’s seven years as a pilot with the U.S. Air Force and 17 with Delta Airlines. He began Soaring Wings in Springfield, Nebraska, with his wife, Sharon, in 2001. The winery produced 11 medals the first year its wines were uncorked. In 2011 Shaw began brewing beer. Today Soaring Wings Vineyard & Brewing offers 22 wines and nine brews.