Privacy & Cookies

Cookies we use

Essential cookies and storage. We use a small amount of browser storage to make the site work: for example to remember the items in your basket and keep you signed in. These are always on, because the site cannot function without them, and they do not track you across other websites.

Site statistics (on by default, you can switch them off). We keep our own anonymous counts of visits, the pages and wines viewed, and how far people get through checkout, using PostHog in our own EU-hosted account. They are not shared with anyone, not used for advertising, and do not build a profile of you; the only thing kept in your browser is a random identifier for the current tab, gone when you close it. This runs by default under the statistical purposes exemption in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and you can turn it off at any time from the cookie notice or the Cookie settings link in the footer.

Analytics cookies (optional). With your consent we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how the site is used, and PostHog also lets us record anonymised session replays (a playback of page interactions like clicks and scrolling) to spot problems in the shopping experience. The information you type (such as your email and delivery address) is masked in these recordings, and card details are never captured (they are entered securely inside Stripe). These cookies and recordings only run after you choose Accept all in the cookie notice, or turn on Analytics and advertising under Customise.

Advertising cookies (optional). When you accept analytics and advertising, we also use Google Ads to measure how well our advertising works (for example, which advert led to a purchase) and to show you relevant adverts on other websites. These are only set if you accept that category; otherwise Google Ads runs in a restricted, cookieless mode and no advertising cookies are set. See our Cookies policy for detail.

Your choice

When you first visit, a notice gives you three choices with equal weight: Accept all, Reject all, or Customise. Our own anonymous site statistics run unless you switch them off under Customise or Cookie settings; Reject all turns off everything that needs your consent and leaves those statistics on. Until you accept analytics and advertising, Google Analytics runs in a restricted, cookieless mode (Google Consent Mode), no session replays are recorded and no advertising cookies are set. You can change your mind at any time using the “Cookie settings” link in the footer.

What analytics collects

With your consent, our analytics collect usage information such as pages viewed, approximate location (from your IP address, which we ask Google to anonymise), device and browser type, the products viewed or purchased, and, via PostHog, anonymised session replays of on-page interactions (with the information you type masked). We use this only to understand and improve the site. Google and PostHog each process this data as described in their own privacy policies; PostHog stores it in the EU.

Orders and contact

When you place an order or contact us, we process the details you give us (such as your name, email, delivery address and order contents) to fulfil the order and respond to you. Payments are handled securely by Stripe; we never see or store your full card details. The shop itself, its database and the emails we send you run on Microsoft Azure in the UK.

How long we keep your details

Orders: six years. HMRC requires us to keep a record of every sale, with the invoice details that go with it, for six years after the end of the accounting year. We cannot delete an order inside that time, even if you ask us to.

Everything else: two years from the last time you dealt with us. Your account, address book, loyalty points, saved baskets, the emails we sent you and your marketing preferences are removed two years after your last order, email or enquiry. If you have an account we will email you before we close it; reply to that email and it stays open. Signing in on its own does not keep it open, because we do not keep a record of logins against your account.

We do this by hand rather than by an automatic process, on a regular schedule. Data about individual visits in Google Analytics is kept for 14 months at the most. Our technical logs are kept for 30 days (a smaller set of anonymous request records, with no names or emails in them, for up to 90 days) and our database backups for 35 days, so anything removed from the live shop disappears from those on its own within about five weeks.

Marketing emails and your preferences

We use Mailchimp (a US provider, Intuit Inc.) to manage our newsletter and any marketing emails. If you ask us to send you marketing (by signing up to the newsletter or opting in from your account), we add your email to our Mailchimp audience and send you a confirmation link before anything else.

If you create an account or buy from us, we will also send you news and offers about our own wines, spirits and tastings, because you have shopped with us or started to. This is the soft opt-in that UK law allows for a shop marketing its own similar products and services to its own customers. It covers Taste of the Vines only: we never pass your details to anyone else for their marketing. There is a box on the registration form and at checkout that you can tick if you would rather not hear from us. Every marketing email we send you carries an unsubscribe link, and you can switch it off at any time from the marketing preferences in your account. Once you have told us to stop, a later order does not start it again. We keep a record of when you were offered the choice, where, and the exact wording you saw.

If you have not opted in, including if you check out as a guest, we still keep a record of your email in Mailchimp, but as a suppressed, non-marketing contact. We do this so we can reliably exclude you from marketing: it means we never email you, even if we later run a campaign against a larger list. These suppressed contacts are never sent marketing and are not part of any promotional send. Because we never email these suppressed contacts, there is no unsubscribe link to use, but you can opt in to marketing whenever you like from your account or the newsletter sign-up, or ask us to delete this record entirely at any time using the details below. Mailchimp processes this data in the United States as described in its own privacy notice.

Your rights, and how to use them

You can ask us for a copy of everything we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. There is no button for this on the site: we are a small shop and we handle every request personally. Email us at info@tasteofthevines.co.uk from the address you used with us, or reach us via the contact page, and we will reply within one month. It is free.

If you ask us to delete your details, we remove your account, your addresses, your loyalty history, your marketing record and the copies our email and analytics providers hold. Your past orders stay on file for the six years HMRC requires, but we keep only what the invoice and tax records need and remove the rest. Any unused loyalty points or store credit are given up when the account goes, so tell us if you would rather use them first.

If you are not happy with how we have handled your data you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk, though we would rather you told us first.