Why do we ask? Many wineries, especially small production houses with highly sought-after wines, have limited or no distribution and rely on direct sales to the consumer. They normally have limited resources to receive visitors and in many cases an owner or winemaker will host the tasting personally. It is not uncommon for the value of the wine opened for the tasting to be several hundred dollars. I have developed strong relationships with many of these wineries that allow me favored access, based partly on the fact that I attempt to determine a client's potential support for the brand in advance of arranging a visit. By determining your potential purchases, I can gauge whether or not these types of wineries would be appropriate to include in your tour.