Goodbye to All That: Wall Street Journal “Tastings” Column Calls It Quits
If you regularly follow wine columns in some of the big dailies, you’ll be sad to know that Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, who have been writing a wonderful wine column in the Wall Street Journal for 12 years, have officially penned their last for that paper. I had only just started reading their column regularly in the last few months, and loved it for its accessibility and genuineness. The way they wrote about wine was down-to-earth and approachable, and you felt like if you bumped into Dottie and John on the wine aisle in the supermarket, they’d be happy to give you some great advice on what to put in your shopping cart.
Their final column is a commentary on the significant role context plays in what’s considered great wine. As they note, “Art is personal. And wine is art.” I agree. I’ve said it before, drink what you like, and that IS good wine. And much of what makes it good has to do with the circumstances under which you imbibe it. Which is why I’m so sad to say goodbye to these guys. They understand. They carry the flag.
Here, listen to Dottie and John:
“In fact, this is, in many ways, what great wine is all about: It is all about you. By allowing other people to ridicule any wine you like or criticize the way you enjoy it, or by allowing others to decide for you what is and is not a fine wine, you are genuinely missing the point of wine, which is this: Your enjoyment of any wine is an extension of yourself, your emotions, your experiences and your circumstances when you drink it. A truly fine wine is like a truly fine poem: It’s not just about what the poet thought or felt when he or she wrote it, but what you thought or felt when you read it. Different people will experience the same exact wine differently, and vive la différence.”
Exactly.
(The final column also highlights Dottie and John’s picks for best wines of 2009, if you’re into an end-of-year wine round-up kind of thing.)
Goodbye Dottie and John, and just when I was getting to know you. You will be missed.
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