Privacy Policy

Wine Travel Guides (“we”, “us”, or “our”) operates the website winetravelguides.com. This page explains what information we collect, why we collect it, and how you can control it. We keep this simple because we are a content site — not a platform that handles payments, accounts, or sensitive personal data.

1. What We Collect

Analytics Data (automatic)

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how visitors use our site. GA4 automatically collects:

• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• General geographic location (country/region — not precise location)
• Browser type, device type, and operating system
• How you arrived at our site (search engine, direct, referral)
• Session data and approximate session duration

This data is aggregated and anonymised. We do not use it to identify individuals. Google Analytics sets the following cookies on your device: _ga and _ga_*. These persist for up to 2 years.

Newsletter Email (if you subscribe)

If you sign up for our newsletter, your email address is collected and stored by Buttondown, our email newsletter provider. We do not store your email address on our own servers. Buttondown's privacy policy can be found at buttondown.com/legal/privacy.

We use your email address only to send wine travel content. We will never sell or share your email address with third parties for marketing purposes.

No Account Data

We do not have user accounts, logins, or payment processing. We do not collect names, addresses, phone numbers, or payment information.

2. Cookies

We use only the following cookies:

We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or authentication cookies.

3. Third Parties

The following third-party services may process data when you use our site:

Google Analytics

Provides site analytics. Data is processed by Google in accordance with their privacy policy. Google may process data in the United States. You can learn more at policies.google.com/privacy.

Buttondown

Manages our newsletter list and sends email. If you subscribe to our newsletter, Buttondown stores your email address and basic engagement data (opens, clicks).

Booking.com (Affiliate Links)

Some of our accommodation recommendations include affiliate links to Booking.com. If you click these links, Booking.com may set their own cookies on your device and will process your data according to their privacy policy if you make a booking. We earn a small commission on bookings at no extra cost to you. This does not affect our editorial recommendations.

Vercel

Our site is hosted on Vercel. Vercel may log basic access data (IP addresses, request metadata) as part of normal server operation for security and reliability purposes.

4. How We Use Your Data

• To understand which content is useful to our readers (analytics)
• To send wine travel newsletters to subscribers who have opted in
• To improve site performance and user experience

We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, or any automated decision-making. We do not sell your data to anyone.

5. Your Rights and Choices

Opt Out of Google Analytics

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. You can also use your browser settings or a privacy-focused browser extension to block analytics cookies.

Unsubscribe from Newsletter

Every newsletter email includes an unsubscribe link. Clicking it will immediately remove you from our list. You can also contact us directly to request removal.

Browser Cookie Controls

You can clear or block cookies through your browser settings at any time. Note that blocking all cookies will not prevent you from reading our content — the site works fully without cookies.

Data Subject Rights (EEA/UK)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, you have rights under GDPR/UK GDPR including the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data. Because we hold minimal personal data (newsletter email only, via Buttondown), most requests can be handled by unsubscribing. For any other requests, contact us via our contact page.

6. Data Retention

Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months as configured in our GA4 property. Newsletter subscriber data is held by Buttondown for as long as you remain subscribed, and deleted upon unsubscribe.

7. Children's Privacy

Our site is intended for adult wine travel enthusiasts. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the “last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please reach out via our contact page.