I cannot finish an indepth review about France without looking at the country's related skill and that is Nectar Making. For those who have followed The Sims, you may recall that Nectar first made an appearance over six years ago in the SimNation with Making Magic, which was the 7th Expansion for The Sims.

It seemed to have faded into oblivion with The Sims 2 with "juice" monopolising the cold drinks market. However, it is now back but it requires a trip to France in order to learn and also to acquire the necessary equipment if your sim wants to "try this at home". It is supposed to be alcohol-free but children cannot drink it. For those who are still not aware, Nectar is the simworld's equivalent of wine and begins with crushing grapes in an old traditional way.

This L'Amour des Fruits Nectar Maker can be found at the Champs Les Sims Nectary where sims can try out making nectar. Danielle Beckett, who was our intrepid explorer for France, actually got to make some as one of her missions. The machine can also be purchased at the Nectary's shop and is automatically delivered home. It will cost §1,500. The nectary's shop also sells some of the different types of grapes found in France and also various bottles of different types of nectar, some of which have special qualities. It also sells nectar racks to store those bottles.

Making nectar is a simple process and involves the following steps.

Step 1 - Working out what fruit to include in the blend of this batch of nectar and then placing it in a large trough.
Step 2 - The sim gets into their their swimwear, steps inside the trough and squishes the fruit with their bare feet.

Step 3 - The machine is set going to process the squished fruit into making nectar. Depending upon the skill level of the sim operating the machine and also of the cleanliness and quality of the machine, different types can be produced. In this case, it is only basic. It can take a bit of an effort to get the machine going.
Step 4 - Find something for your sim to do for a few hours.
Step 5 - The sim gets the chance to name this batch of nectar.
Step 6 - Collect the bottled nectar, which goes immediately into the sim's inventory

The skill of Nectar Making can be improved in two ways.

Firstly, there is practical experience, which is illustrated above. This comes from squishing the fruit and firing up the machine.

Secondly, like many of the other skills, there is book learning. Different books can only be read if the sim has reached the minimum level. "L'Amour De Nectar" is the book for the novice and reading this will help a sim get up to Level 3 in the skill. "Nectar Making" will only make sense to a sim who already has Level 3 in the skill and will help them get up to Level 6. "Advanced Nectarology" will only be of use to those sims who have Level 6 in the skill and this will help them get to Level 10. These can all be found at the bookstore in Champs Les Sims.

Logically, the higher the sim's nectar-making skill is, the better the quality of the nectar produced. Also, with the different skill levels are further enhancements to a sim's abilities in the nectar-making field.

Level 0 - The sim can make "basic" nectar only.
Level 4 - A sim can make "concentrated" nectar. It might not produce as many bottles but it is of a higher quality.
Level 7 - A sim can "mass produce" nectar. The quality may be not be so good but it does produce more bottles.
Level 9 - This allows "extended nectaration". The machine process may take longer but it will produce higher quality nectar.

As with the other skills, there are various challenges within the skill that provide different benefits if they are met.

Master of Nectar Making is achieved after a sim has made 200 bottles of Nectar. This allows them to make more bottles per batch.

Flavourful Feet is achieved after a sim has squished 40 batches of fruit. This will increase the original value of the Nectar that sim makes.

The Vizard of Vine is achieved by turning 400 bunches of homegrown grapes into Nectar. This means that all homegrown grapevines will provide a better yield.

If a sim would rather treat their bottles of Nectar as an investment and not just as a way to get good moodlets, they will need to take those bottles of nectar out of their inventory and store them safely in a nectar rack. It is recommended that the best place to put a nectar rack is in a cellar or basement.

Unfortunately, at this point, I do not have the time to go into details about making basements. However, instructions can be found on Page 14 in the booklet that comes with this expansion. At some point, I hope to be able to produce a tutorial on basements and tomb design.