xxxxxxx and Henry wrote them without artifice or pandering ,” Teague says . Henry , who did not have children of her own , developed real relationships with some of her readers , referring tothem as her “ book children .”
WRITING ABOUT TWO GREATLOVES
Teague began riding horses atage 9 , about the same time she started writing . “ Reading and writing were everything inmylife , from when Iwas achild all the way until now ,” she says .
At age 16 , while living inDeerfield , Indiana , Teague finally bought herself what she calls “ a cheap horse .” “ We were city people , and we bought afarm of 12 acres , which ofcourse wasn ’ ta farm by normal standards ,” she says . “ Because we had land , we could afford to keep ahorse .” It was the first of many horses Teague would ride .
Teague attended Kenyon College and joined the equestrian team . She moved to New York City after graduation and rode atClaremont Riding Academy on the Upper West Side .“ It wasn ’ t until Ibecame the wine columnist for The Wall Street Journal that Ibegan riding seriously again ,” she says , buying and leasing several horses and competing in local shows . She gave away her last horse two years ago . “ I ’ m temporarily retired from riding , but not completely ,” she says . “ There ’ s another horse inmyfuture .”
Her wine education began during her junior year of college in the unlikely city of Dublin , Ireland , where she attended the School ofIrish Studies . “ It was sheer luck that Iended up living with Peter Dunn and his family . He ’ s the director of Mitchell & Son , then the most important wine retailer , wholesaler and importer in Ireland ,” Teague says .“ He talked about wine the way Italked about books . That ’ s what fascinated me .”
Back in the U . S , Teague got herself into the wine business , holding a variety ofjobs inwholesale and retail sales , marketing , public relations , and restaurants . “ I ended upacquiring a lot of really practical wine business experience ,” she says . She segued into writing about wine at the now-defunct Diversion magazine and became wine editor at Food & Wine in 1997 .
@ montclairmagazine MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE MAY 2024
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