There has been a lot of discussion on websites and social media recently about whether or not wine and food writers should accept freebies (wine samples, restaurant meals, trips, etc).
This is my take on a contentious issue.
Wine and food writers get invited to travel to some great places to visit vineyards and taste wine. Some of us are also lucky enough to get sent bottles of wine to taste or receive invitations to go and eat out in restaurants.
In theory, receipt of a trip, meal or bottle of wine might be considered to put the recipient under obligation to write a positive review. However, in my experience, a responsible journalist (or blogger) feels no such obligation. Our primary responsibility is to our readers rather than to wine and food producers, restaurateurs or PRs.