Privacy policy

In short

• You can read getwine without signing in. We don't know who you are unless you sign in or write to us.
• If you sign in with Google, we keep your email, name, photo and what you save.
• We count visits with Google Analytics to see which pages help readers; it doesn't tell us your name.
• One account works on all getwine sites and apps.
• We don't sell data, show ads or build interest profiles.
• You can delete your account yourself at any time.

Who we are

getwine is run by an individual entrepreneur registered in Georgia, identification number 306355832. It is the controller of your data under the GDPR on all getwine sites and apps.

For questions about your data, use the form at /contact.

What data we use and why

Reading the site

Our server logs each request: page, time, browser and a shortened IP address that does not identify you.

Purpose: to keep the site running and secure. Basis: legitimate interest. Kept: up to 90 days.

Visit statistics (Google Analytics)

We count which pages are opened, where visitors come from, their device, approximate location and key actions, such as following a link to a shop. We never send Google your name, email, saved items or ratings.

Purpose: to learn which pages help readers. Basis: depends on the site, see below. Kept: up to 14 months, by Google.

• getwine.md and getwine.at: statistics run only after you click "Accept" in the banner. Basis: consent. You can change your choice at any time via "Cookie settings" at the bottom of the page.
• getwine.ge and getwine.am: statistics run by default. Basis: legitimate interest; we collect the minimum and show no ads. You can object by blocking cookies or Google Analytics in your browser, or by writing to us via /contact.

Your account

You need an account only to save entries and keep "My wines", or to link yourself to a winery, venue or author page. You sign in with Google only. We keep your email, name, profile photo and Google account ID, the domain of a work account (to check claims), your site language and sign-in dates. We have no passwords and no access to your mail, contacts or files. Only you see your photo; you can replace or remove it.

If you are not signed in, Google may offer a sign-in window (on getwine.md and getwine.at, only on the account page). Your browser then connects to Google under its policy: policies.google.com/privacy. We receive nothing until you continue.

One sign-in works on every getwine site and app except getwine.at. When you sign in, getwine.me remembers it in its own cookie. When you open another getwine site, your browser may briefly check with getwine.me, and the site receives only your account ID so it can recognise you. On getwine.md this happens only when you select “Sign in”. If you haven't signed in anywhere, the site learns only that and keeps no record about you. “Sign out” on any site signs you out of every getwine site in this browser, and the site where you signed out stops checking on its own until you sign in again.

An account cannot be created without an email address.

Purpose: to provide the service you asked for. Basis: contract. Kept: until you delete the account.

Saved items and My wines

We keep what you saved and when, and in "My wines" the list ("Want to try" or "Tried"), your rating from 1 to 5 and its date. Only you see them: we don't publish or average ratings or use them to rank anything.

Purpose: to keep your lists for you. Basis: contract. Kept: until you remove them or delete your account.

Claims to a winery, venue or author page

Wineries, venues and wine writers can claim their page. We keep the page, your position if given, the status and the decision. If your work account's domain matches the website on the page, we record the match (email, domain, website) as evidence. A program checks the domain; a person decides.

Purpose: to know who really represents a winery, venue or author. Basis: contract and our legitimate interest in an accurate directory. Kept: while your account exists.

Messages through /contact

We keep your name, email, organisation, the entry you write about, who you are (reader, winery, shop, press), the topic, text, site and language. We don't publish messages.

Purpose: to reply and check facts. Basis: legitimate interest, or our legal obligation when you exercise your rights. Kept: name, email and organisation are erased 12 months after receipt; the text stays without them.

Security log

We record sign-ins, account creation and deletion, claims, decisions and access changes, without IP addresses.

Purpose: to protect accounts and settle disputes about access. Basis: legitimate interest. Kept: while the account exists; after deletion, without email or name.

What we don't do

• We don't sell data, show ads or set advertising cookies.
• We don't build interest profiles or make automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.
• We don't publish user ratings or counts such as "saved by N people".
• We don't link the pages you view or your searches to your account.
• We don't send newsletters or notifications; we email you only to reply to your message. Any future notifications will need your consent for each topic.

Who receives data

• Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany) — hosting and encrypted backups on servers in the EU, on our instructions.
• Google — sign-in, when you choose it, and visit statistics, on our instructions.
• Public authorities — only when the law requires it.

No one else.

Transfers abroad

Our servers are in the EU. The operator works from Georgia and accesses the data from there. The EU has not recognised Georgia as providing adequate data protection. Your data is protected by Georgia's 2023 Law on Personal Data Protection and by our measures: only the operator can access the database, and connections and backups are encrypted.

Google LLC may process data in the USA under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, recognised as adequate by the European Commission.

Deleting your account

In your account, choose "Delete account" and confirm. Immediately and on all getwine sites:

• your email, name, photo, sign-in methods, saved items and ratings are erased;
• you are signed out on all devices;
• claims that did not lead to access are deleted.

What remains has no email or name: records of granted access, the security log and edits accepted into the directory. Backups are overwritten within 12 months.

Your rights

You can access and get a copy of your data, correct it, delete it, restrict its processing, receive it in a machine-readable format, object to processing based on legitimate interest, withdraw consent at any time (without affecting earlier processing) and complain to a supervisory authority. These rights and the legal bases above come from the GDPR and the personal data laws of Georgia (2023), Armenia (No. ՀՕ-49-Ն) and Moldova (No. 195/2024).

• In your account: "Download my data (JSON)", "Sign out on all devices", "Delete account".
• On getwine.md and getwine.at: "Cookie settings" at the bottom of the page.
• Anything else: the form at /contact. We reply within one month and may ask you to confirm it is you.

Supervisory authorities:

• Georgia — State Audit Office;
• Armenia — Personal Data Protection Agency of the Ministry of Justice;
• Moldova — National Center for Personal Data Protection;
• Austria — Datenschutzbehörde, dsb.gv.at;
• other EU countries — the authority where you live or work.

Cookies

On getwine.md and getwine.at you can change your choice at any time via "Cookie settings" at the bottom of the page.

The Google sign-in window and button may set Google's own cookies under Google's policy.

Changes and language

We publish new versions here with a number and date; earlier versions are available on request. The English text is the main version: if a translation differs, the English text prevails.