Privacy Policy
Free Bacchus ("we", "us") operates freebacchus.com, a discovery guide for independently verified organic and biodynamic wine and spirits. This page explains what information the site handles, why, and the choices you have. The short version: we collect almost nothing, we sell nothing about you to anyone, and the little we do hold exists so we can send you the newsletter you asked for or answer an enquiry you sent us.
What we collect
Email address. If you subscribe to our newsletter, we store the email address you provide, the date you subscribed, and the network address the signup came from (kept for abuse prevention). We use it to send occasional updates about verified producers, Journal stories, and our launch. We do not sell, rent, or share our list with anyone.
Age confirmation. When you confirm you are of legal drinking age, that confirmation is stored only in your own browser (local storage on your device). It is never transmitted to us and we cannot see it. Clearing your browser data removes it.
Server logs. Like virtually every website, our hosting provider records standard technical logs (pages requested, timestamps, browser type, network addresses) for security and operations. We use privacy-respecting analytics services to count page views and understand which pages people find useful. They set no cookies, create no cross-site identifier, and do not collect or store anything that identifies you individually — which is why this site carries no cookie banner. We can see that a page was viewed; we cannot see who viewed it. If your browser sends a Do Not Track signal, the scripts do not load at all. We use no advertising pixels and set no cookies of our own.
Trade enquiries
The form on our trade page is for businesses — restaurants, wine shops, hotel groups, importers — asking about list screening, the Verified List Programme or sourcing. It is separate from the newsletter, and nothing sent through it is added to any mailing list.
What it collects. Your name, work email address and company are required. Your role, how many locations you run, your approximate list size and which services interest you are optional, and each of those is a choice from a fixed set rather than free text. There is an optional message box. We also record the time the form was submitted and the network address it came from, the second for abuse prevention, exactly as we do for newsletter signups.
Where it goes. Two places, both ours: a file on our own server that only we can read, and join@freebacchus.com, which is the same address the newsletter uses. It is written to the file first, so a mail failure cannot lose your enquiry. It goes to no third party, feeds no advertising, and is not shared with any producer — including a producer you ask us about.
How long we keep it. Until you ask us to delete it, or until the enquiry is closed and there is no longer a reason to hold it. There is no automatic expiry, so if you want it gone, ask and it is gone.
Getting a copy, or getting rid of it. Write to join@freebacchus.com and we will send you everything we hold from your enquiry, or delete it, within 30 days. You need no account and you need not say why.
Third-party services
Some Journal articles embed videos hosted by YouTube. When you view a page containing an embedded video, YouTube (Google) may set its own cookies and collect data under Google's privacy policy. The small flag images in our producer filters are served from the Cloudflare cdnjs content network, which receives standard request data when they load. Neither service receives your email address or anything you type on this site.
Your choices
You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the link in any email or by writing to join@freebacchus.com, and we will remove your address. You may also request a copy of the information we hold about you, or its deletion, at the same address — that covers a trade enquiry as much as a subscription. We respond to all requests within 30 days.
Data retention & security
Subscriber addresses are kept in access-restricted storage for as long as you remain subscribed, then deleted. Trade enquiries are held in the same restricted storage, on our own server rather than a third party’s, and are deleted on request. We keep the data minimal precisely so there is little to secure and less to lose.
Children
Free Bacchus concerns alcoholic beverages and is intended solely for people of legal drinking age in their country of residence. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under that age; if you believe we have, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes
If this policy changes, we will update this page and its effective date. Material changes affecting subscribers will be announced in the newsletter itself.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: join@freebacchus.com.