In a model that has a nest association:
has_many :nesties, :order => "name DESC"
This may be too global for your application.
But the main thing is that fields_for does not select @nesties, it selects a relationship with the model of the parent form.
EDIT: , nested_form, :
named_scope :ordered_nesties, :order => "name DESC"
f.fields_for :ordered_nesties do |nestie-form|