The Traveling Vineyard is the offspring of Geerlings and Wade, a company that has been in business since the mid 1980s. The Traveling Vineyard’s mission includes the sharing of enthusiasm for fine wine as well as the demystifying of the wine selection and tasting process.

The Traveling Vineyard’s Income Opportunity consists of becoming an independent Wine Consultant. The Wine Consultant technically owns his or her own business and can sell the Traveling Vineyard’s products through home tasting event. According to the Traveling Vineyard’s website, the Wine Consultants typically earn about one hundred dollars at a home tasting event. There are also opportunities to earn residual income through simple direct sales to repeat customers. This is one of the many “earn as much or as little money as you want” income opportunities.

Unfortunately, that is where the Traveling Vineyard Income Opportunity information ends. To learn any further information about the income opportunity you are required to enter in your personal information. The information they require you to enter consists of contact information which includes your name, address, and email address. A phone number is optional. The Traveling Vineyard also sometimes requires financial information that will most likely include credit card numbers (assuming you order business related materials).

The Traveling Vineyard’s privacy policy states, in plain language, that sometimes they share “transactional” information with “carefully screened business partners.” They do not bother to define “transactional” or list their “carefully screened business partners.” Later in the privacy policy it states contact and order information is given out but that financial information is not.

Never. Ever. Give out your contact information when you are not sure what you will get in return. The Traveling Vineyard does not give any information on what products you will be required to buy to start your wine tasting and selling business. They do not tell you how or how often commission is paid out to the Wine Consultants. They do not tell you if you are required to set up a down line or if that down line is a straight commission or a binary structure (which averages all commissions earned in the down line and then decides how much you get paid).

Another reason not to give The Traveling Vineyard any information is that it readily admits that it will give out your information. They say that the information is aggregated, but the problem with that is that your driver’s license is used as your account number. It all seems a little shady.

Never join a company that won’t tell you how it works up front. Joining a company that requires up front money is always a little risky, but a company that wants very personal information (that it admits to sharing) before disclosing its own information is never a good idea.

Bypass The Traveling Vineyard for one that will let you know up front what is expected, what kind of effort you will need to put out and exactly how you will be paid.