Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Gaiter and Brecher--Must Reads (PB)

With all the options one has at their fingertips these days for information, gathering too much information can be inhibiting. So I want to endorse a wine reference that is one of those must read resources. Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher write a wine column for the Wall Street Journal every Friday in the section called the Weekend Journal. I am fairly certain that the column is syndicated so it may be in one of your local papers but if it isn’t, the Wall Street Journal is readily available at your supermarket no doubt. Gaiter and Brecher, the husband and wife team are, in my estimation, one of the very best wine writers of the day because they are REAL people who know wine. They are the consummate, unpretentious wine writers who love wine, the experience surrounding wine, and communicate those joys in the everyday realities of life. Their Friday column in the Journal is worth the price of the paper. Their reviews are not snobby, are written in everyday terminology and I have found their recommendations to be very reliable. I don’t believe I have been disappointed in a single recommendation of theirs that I have been able to follow up on.

They have a couple books published the most recent of which is Wine for Everyday and Every Occasion and it is written in the same down to earth lingo of their column. If you are not familiar with their writings, become so as soon as possible.

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:49 PM

    I couldn't agree more. One of the first wine books I was ever given (before I really KNEW anything, in fact) was one of theirs. I still enjoy reading through it and I lend it to newbies all the time.

    I wish they had a blog! :)

    ____________________________
    Lenn Thompson
    www.lenndevours.com
    lenn@lenndevours.com

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  2. Anonymous10:00 PM

    This is my favorite "wine" book, for sure!

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  3. Anonymous1:37 PM

    Agreed, 100%! I mean who else could get away with giving a superb recommendation for a wine to drink while eating Southern boiled peanuts!

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  4. I concur with all these comments. Do you happen to know a place on the web were they post past articles from their weekly WSJ column? I have been trying to track down one from a couple of months ago about U.S. vineyards in some unusual place.

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  5. I disagree. They are poseurs on a fat budget. Their column is a mish-mosh of affectation and pretence and all those phony adjectives - give me a break. All those nuances. I have been reading them for years and I am not convinced they really know as much as they would like you to think. Go back to Schoonmaker. He never says "complex" or "hints of raspberry", etc. awful

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  6. And now they too have left the sinking Rupertonian WSJ. They announced in their last column that it was truly their LAST column. Email from Weekend new Editor John Edwards elicited nothing more than an "I can't comment" comment.

    I am personally offering to design and host their new site/blog if they're interested. This is a shame. Subscription cancelled.

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  7. i THINK THEY DESERVE A PLACE IN THE WINE UNIVERSE, BUT I HAVE OBJECTED TO MOST OF THEIR COLUMNS, AND SOME OF THIS IS STYLISTIC. I FELT IT WAS A BIT GRANDIOSE TO CALL THEIR COLUMN THE "DOW JONES" WHATEVER, THEREBY APPROPRIATING UNTO THEMSELVES THE MANTEL OF THE JOURNAL(THIS WAS BEFORE RUPERT). ADMITTEDLY, THE JOURNAL HAS BEEN GETTING A LITTLE SCHLOCKIER OF LATE, BUT IT IS STILL THE BEST PAPER IN THE US, AND OF HIGHER STATURE JOURNALISTICALLY, THAN "JOHN & DOTTIE"'S OUTPUT. i WON'T MISS THEM. THERE ARE VERY FEW GOOD WINE WRITERS AROUND TODAY, LIKE PRIAL OR SCHOONMAKER.

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