Please consider a voluntary payment. Each year, in the winter/spring, I travel to Italy to make all of the important wine fairs (VinItaly, ViniVeri, ProWein, etc.). In the fall/winter, I typically arrive a week before Sangiovese harvest in Chianti, and depart a week or two before Christmas. These months from Oct-Dec is reserved for more intimate visits, and vintage assessment. Nearly all of my travel is by car, and it’s typically 12,000-20,000 km each year through most, if not all of Italy’s wine regions. I do all of this on my own – I accept no form of payment from producers, no guesthouses, no dinners, nothing. I pay my way, and I don’t use points. The road less traveled.