We demonstrate an original method -- based on controlled oxidation -- to create high-quality tunnel junctions between superconducting Al reservoirs and InAs semiconductor nanowires. We show clean tunnel characteristics with a current suppression by over $4$ orders of magnitude for a junction bias well below the Al gap $Delta_0 approx 200,mu {rm eV}$. The experimental data are in close agreement with the BCS theoretical expectations of a superconducting tunnel junction. The studied devices combine small-scale tunnel contacts working as thermometers as well as larger electrodes that provide a proof-of-principle active {em cooling} of the electron distribution in the nanowire. A peak refrigeration of about $delta T = 10,{rm mK}$ is achieved at a bath temperature $T_{bath}approx250-350,{rm mK}$ in our prototype devices. This method opens important perspectives for the investigation of thermoelectric effects in semiconductor nanostructures and for nanoscale refrigeration.
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