Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher have been writing "Tastings," the weekly wine column of The Wall Street Journal for the last twelve years. This week's column is their last. I've linked to several of their articles in the past; particularly their pieces on "Should I Decant?" More than once I've directed people to their friendly, helpful enthusiastic "I'm New to Wine: How Do I Start?" column. It has the single most useful advice I've seen ever, anywhere for someone just beginning to be interested in wine:

Find a good, patient wine merchant -- there are many of them out there -- and buy a case of wine. Set yourself a price limit -- say, $100 -- and tell the merchant you want a mixed case of wine from all over that will not exceed that limit. Put the wines in a dark place with a moderate, constant temperature, like the bottom of your closet, and drink up. Try to take some notes on the ones you like, especially the ones you might want to try again. When those are gone, buy another mixed case of wines that are new to you.

It seems somehow particularly fitting that Gaiter and Brecher's last piece is one in which they ask readers "What was the most delicious wine you tasted this year?" They then respond with

But our guess is that, in your heart, the most delicious wine was the one you picked up in the $1.99 bargain basket that was better than you ever could have imagined, or the wine at that restaurant where everything went right, or the wine on the beach in the plastic cup in Punta Cana.

That, truly, is what delicious wine is all about.

I do want you to go read the whole piece; but there's one more bit I want to draw your attention to:

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.

Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher will be missed. I'm not sure what precipitated their exit. Various wine writers have noted their leave-taking. I do suspect it's part of the general newspaper budget crisis, it wouldn't surprise me to discover that the WSJ is planning to replace their very popular and knowledgeable wine writers with content tied to the Journal's recently decanted wine club.