This is sort of akin to Rolling Stone naming its new auto writers. But hey, we will not begrudge them as the choices seem good.

As with its expansion into other areas, such as sports and science, the Journal has made a lot of its wine beat in past years. Here is the internal memo from Managing Editor Robert Thomson released today:

Dear All,

We are pleased to announce our new duet of wine columnists, Jay McInerney and Lettie Teague, who will imbibe and write on alternating Saturdays in the Weekend section, starting next month.

Jay McInerney, the author of seven novels, including “Bright Lights, Big City”, is one of the country's best known contemporary fiction writers. He has also emerged as one of the freshest voices in the field, bringing wit to wine and wine to wit. His monthly wine columns for House and Garden magazine are collected in two books: Bacchus and Me" and a “Hedonist in the Cellar.” In 2006 he was the recipient of the James Beard Foundations MFK Fischer Distinguished Writing Award. A collection of his short stories, “How It Ended,” was published last year.

Lettie Teague is known for her irreverent, entertaining writing style and her smart takes on broader themes, from wine counterfeiting to the intricacies of restaurant wine lists. She joins us from Food & Wine magazine, where her popular monthly column, “Wine Matters”, won the 2003 James Beard MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award and the 2005 James Beard Magazine Columns Award. She is the author of “Educating Peter,” an introduction to wine - she will now be educating us all.

Robert