Lettie Teague is an American author and currently a wine columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Teague was for several years with Food & Wine, as wine editor of the magazine from 1997 and executive wine editor 2005-2009.
Biography
Lettie Teague was born in Indiana, and during her childhood lived in various places in Ohio and North Carolina. After studying English at Kenyon College, she held various wine-related jobs in retail, restaurants, wholesale sales, and marketing until becoming a public relations executive specializing in wine. In 1995 she became the food, wine, and books editor at the Hearst travel magazineDiversion, and in 1997 became the wine editor of Food & Wine. She remained with the magazine until American Express Publishing announced a reduction in staff in 2009, and Teague went on to write a blog for eRobertParker.com, online site of Robert Parker, for a brief period. In April 2010, three months after the departure of Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, she was announced as a wine columnist of The Wall Street Journal, along with Jay McInerney and Will Lyons. Teague has speculated on a classification scheme of California wine, and launched a debate concerning Barolo. She has won three James Beard Awards, including the 2003 MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award, the 2005 Best Magazine Columns, and in 2012 Best Food-Related Columns for her work at The Wall Street Journal. She has been used as a wine authority by CNN. Teague has described engaging competitive "guess that wine" blind tasting games with then husband, GQfood criticAlan Richman.
Books
Teague was illustrator and co-author of the 1995 book Fear of Wine: An Introductory Guide to the Grape by Leslie Brenner.
In 2007 she published a book Educating Peter--How Anybody Can Become An Instant Wine Expert. This is a beginner's guide to the essential facts of wine, presented in the form of a chronicle of her efforts to inform and educate her friend, Peter Travers, a film critic for the Rolling Stone.
