Jane and Shields–They have that loving feeling…
I feel so fortunate when in the course of the work I do for Field & Feast (if you can call it work) I get to meet fabulous and fun people.
At the top of that list has to be Miss Jane Nickles and her husband Shields T. Hood.
They invited me to their Central Austin home for our interview about wine and food pairing, and I had a blast.
I reckon drinking a couple of glasses of good wine didn’t hurt the mood, either.
“Miss Jane” Nickles and Shields T. Hood claim to be the most experienced, most hilarious, and most in-love couple in the wine education world!
I am totally inclined to believe it, because I experienced it first hand.
Miss Jane will be the first to tell you: “we’re so in love that we glow.” They are award-winning wine educators and authors with nearly 50 years of combined wine education experience.
Jane is currently serving as the Director of Education for the Society of Wine Educators. In the past year, she has re-written the 300-page Study Guide for the Certified Specialist of Wine Exam, created a matching 185-page workbook, brought the Society’s CSW and CSS (Certified Specialist of Spirits) exam to the world stage by making the exams available worldwide at Pearson Vue Testing Centers, launched a series of SWEbinars and online review classes for the Society’s Certification, and, from what she tells us, she is just getting started!
Shields T. Hood serves as the General Manager of the Society of Wine Educators, and is currently putting the finishing touches on the Society’s 38th Annual Conference, to be held this August in Seattle. He also puts on a series of “mini-conferences” at locations throughout the country and is in charge of the Society’s Products, Marketing, Websites, Exams, and Customer Service.
You can reach Miss Jane and Shields T. through SWE’s Blog, “Wine, Wit, and Wisdom,” or Miss Jane’s Blog, “The Bubbly Professor.”