Tim Atkin MW's weekly column in Sunday newspaper the Observer will be radically reduced from the end of this month.
The popular page, which Atkin has written since 1993, will go down to three wine recommendations a week.
Atkin (pictured) will continue to have a presence in the paper's colour magazine Observer Food Monthly.
Atkin is one of the UK's best-known wine writers, with a clutch of awards to his name, including 2009 Louis Roederer International Wine Columnist of the Year and five Glenfiddich Awards. He has won Champagne Lanson Wine Writer of the Year four times.
He writes frequently for Decanter.
He told decanter.com, 'I am sad that The Observer has decided to reduce the scope of its wine coverage at a time when people need reliable advice more than ever. I will miss the challenge of writing what was (I hope) an engaging, informed and entertaining piece each week.'
An Observer spokesperson said, 'I can confirm that Tim Atkin will continue to write for the Observer and his wine column will feature in OFM each month. His wine recommendations will continue to feature each week in Observer Magazine.'
The Observer's decision to cut its wine coverage is not without precedent: other newspapers have cut their wine coverage over the past few years.
In March 2009 Joanna Simon ceased writing on wine for the Sunday Times when her long-running wine column was taken in-house. Richard Ehrlich's wine column for the Independent on Sunday was also cut.
Atkin's last full length Observer wine column will appear on 14 February.
A Facebook campaign named Save the wine column, created in support of Tim Atkin's column, has amassed over 800 members.
Have your say... To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com
Well at least it is not the end of Tim but I for one will miss his sane judgements and oftimes delicious recommendations. It is a reflection of the bean counter attitudes within management that they consider that wine is probably not a proper subject in times of austerity. Actually we do need reminding of the good things in life even if we cannot consume them ourselves for we have to appreciate the greatness that man's achievements can attain. As for livening on a tighter budget we need a sure guide who will brave the sour, ill made and weak wines so that he can recommend the bargains that can add a light to our days in the darker times of our economy. Laurence Measey
Having seen my own column in the Sunday Telegraph slashed in size and then disappear a decade or so ago, I feel great sympathy for Tim. Trying to write the kind of first class informative and informed pieces he has been offering on a weekly basis is far from easy – and far tougher than penning a list of what-to-buy in the supermarket, which was what my editor often wanted. But, as has been noted, Tim's plight is not unusual in the UK or overseas, and the truth of the matter seems to be that when newspapers poll their readers, too few of them say that a discursive wine column is something they really need. There are plenty of online examples of the kind of writing Tim and others have been providing in print, but these require people to go looking for them. Newspaper wine columns had the quality of catching the attention of readers with only a passing interest in the subject; this is far less likely in the case of online news sources like the Guardian Online and the Huffington Post where readers tend to click directly to articles about which they want to know more. Robert Joseph
I have just come across this article, it is very sad news, over the last 15 or so years, Tim's column in the 'Observer' was an integral part of my journey in wine.
This is just another part of the general dumbing down of our national newspapers and only add to the drift of readers away from printed news papers to the Internet! George Biswas, Virginia Water, England
That's a real shame, I think that The Observer has been careering downhill over the past year or so and Tim's column was one of the few reasons to choose The Observer over other Sunday publications, have you read the wine "review" in the Sunday Times for example!!!!? David Shelley
It is sad that this is happening. In Chile is the same and I really do not understand why editors and newspapers are taking this decision considering that wine lovers and readers and consumers with a high standard and potential of growth. This is forcing to go online more and more and the newspapers are always complaining about people not reading their pages. Who understand this??? Max Morales, Andes Wines
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Jim Budd
Well at least it is not the end of Tim but I for one will miss his sane judgements and oftimes delicious recommendations. It is a reflection of the bean counter attitudes within management that they consider that wine is probably not a proper subject in times of austerity. Actually we do need reminding of the good things in life even if we cannot consume them ourselves for we have to appreciate the greatness that man's achievements can attain. As for livening on a tighter budget we need a sure guide who will brave the sour, ill made and weak wines so that he can recommend the bargains that can add a light to our days in the darker times of our economy. Laurence Measey
