Comments on: Just heard: Jay McInerney will be the WSJ wine columnist…

By: Warren Bobrow

Warren Bobrow — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:16:31 +0000

They didn’t ask me!

By: Mike Richards

Mike Richards — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:13:31 +0000

The Hedonist In The Cellar is one of my favorite oenophile books, my wife got it for me for Christmas a while back, such a good read. Didn’t realize he was writing for the Wall Street Journal until I read this article. Off to spend some time catching up. Thanks for the share and great site you have here, bookmarked and will be back.

By: 10 Minute Trainer Fan

10 Minute Trainer Fan — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:55:57 +0000

Me again

Just wanted to comment and say that I think Jay McInerney has been doing a great job so far. I love his older fiction, and I think he’s been a great columnist for the always great WSJ.

By: Jay McInerney, wealth porn, and the WSJ wine column | Dr Vino's wine blog

Jay McInerney, wealth porn, and the WSJ wine column | Dr Vino's wine blog — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:59:29 +0000

[...] duo of wine columnists, Jay McInerney and Lettie Teague, on Saturday (even though rumors had been flying on the internets for months). They replace John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter who left the paper in December after [...]

By: Mike Jemison

Mike Jemison — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:02:51 +0000

The discontinued column (Dottie and John) was hokey beyond belief. I never found a single shred of useful information on it. “Gee whiz, I really liked this bottle, but John didn’t!”
“Bet you’ve never heard of Mourvedre!” “We opened an old Bordeaux last night from the year we were married and, by golly, it brought back fond memories!” Tripe like that.
I look forward to McInerney.

By: Ed Payne

Ed Payne — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:35:04 +0000

WSJ must be ramping up its wine coverage. Jay will be a good double act with Will Lyons, an up and coming young talent in the wine writing world.

By: Robert Howells

Robert Howells — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:21:26 +0000

This is great news. I have been a fan of Jay’s writing for years. I am sure Mr. McInerney will bring his A game to WSJ.

By: Helen Mairs

Helen Mairs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:27:31 +0000

Jay’s book on wine was entertaining – looking forward to his column.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:41:39 +0000

I did not drink wine until I started reading Dottie and John’s column several years back. Their column caught my eye for their lack of pretense, quality writing and genuine passion for their topic. I am a loyal WSJ subscriber. Having read all the other columns on the topic that have since replaced these two authors, I am disappointed. As a marketer, my comment to the WSJ is that their circulation would be better served by broadening the paper’s appeal to those who aspire, not just those who have already attained. In an era where newspapers strugle to remain relevant, I think the removal of this pair of columnists was a strategic error. I am hoping they resurface in a venue that will allow them to continue their gift of promoting the love of wine. I will be watching out for them.

By: Fame Game Fame Game Newsletter | Blog Archive » Fame Game Update: More Olympics, TV Premieres, The Feed Foundation, Leigh Lezark

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:55 +0000

[...] Jay McInerney gets a new gig as the Wall Street Journal’s wine columnist. [...]

By: erie

erie — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:58:54 +0000

This is horrible news. Dottie and John were fantastic. Not a fan of Jay. He lacks talent and appeal. Sad to hear this.

By: marybeth

marybeth — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:22:15 +0000

Well that is good news. The interim reviewer was in the UK and all the wines were priced in Euros. A disheartening read when so many talented writers stateside are starving for paying gigs – er, not that Jay is one of the those. So… who will Jay be alternating with? Lawrence Osborne? Lettie Teague? Alice Feiring? Alex Halberstadt?

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:40:28 +0000

Btw, the Dr. Vino wire brought in this tip the other day: Jay McInerney will share the column, alternating weeks with someone else.

By: Dennis Schaefer

Dennis Schaefer — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:17:53 +0000

I enjoy McInerney’s literary writing; his wine scribbling not so much. Too much surface stuff and not enough depth.

By: Charlie Olken

Charlie Olken — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:41:07 +0000

The beauty of the winewriting space is that there are room for all kinds of approaches. I, for one, miss the common man approach of Dottie and John. I never quite got why that was a good approach for the WSJ however. It always seemed to me that everything else the WSJ did or sold was about money–big money, expensive homes, cars that cost six figures.

A common man approach to wine, however much I enjoyed it, seemed a bit incongrous for the setting. But, the funny part is that the column had followers because it turns out that the WSJ is not just read by fat cats on Wall Street but by all kinds of ordinary, everyday cats who drink everyday wine and probably moderately expensive but not wines with three-digit price tags.

So, now I am wondering. What is this all about? Did the cost of keeping two folks on the payroll full-time ultimately get too high for the WSJ? Was the common man approach too common? Or did it add up to something else? Could the WSJ not sell enough wine advertising to make the column worthwhile?

I obviously do not know the answers to those last questions, but a lifestyle column for the rich and famous may well suit the WSJ better than a column that more likely would have been a fit for the Village Voice than for the WSJ?