Privacy

Privacy policy

Last updated 15 October 2026

This policy explains what personal information The Vine (thevinelist.com.au) collects, why, who we share it with and the choices you have. We follow the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The Vine is run by The Vine List (ABN 89 731 970 117), owned by James Ghossein and Rachael Mackey. You can contact us at [email protected].

What we collect

When you create an account

• Your name and email address. We use your email to log you in, confirm your address and send account emails such as password resets.
• Your password. It's stored only in a scrambled (hashed) form. Nobody at The Vine can see it.
• A display name and profile photo, if you choose to add them.

What you add to the site

• Your reviews and scores, the wines you like, your lists, your cellar, and any wines or producers you suggest to us.

If you take out Premium

• Payments are handled by Stripe. Your card details go straight to Stripe and never reach our servers. We keep your Stripe customer number, your plan, and whether your subscription is active, on trial or cancelled.

When you use the site

• Your IP address, which our servers and security services see with every request. We use it to keep the site secure, for example to limit repeated login attempts and to check sign-ups aren't automated.
• Browser storage. We keep your login and your light or dark mode setting in your browser's local storage, so you stay logged in and the site looks the way you chose. We don't use advertising cookies or tracking analytics.

What other people can see

Your display name (or your first name and last initial if you haven't set one), your profile photo, your reviews and any lists you make public can be seen by anyone. Your full name, email address, cellar, likes and private lists are never shown to other people.

How we use your information

• To run your account and the features you use.
• To send you emails about your account, such as confirming your address, resetting your password and Premium receipts. We don't send marketing emails.
• To keep the site secure and to deal with misuse, such as spam or abusive reviews.
• To review the wines and producers you suggest.

We don't sell your personal information or share it with advertisers.

Services we use

We use these companies to run The Vine. They only handle your information to provide their service to us:

• MongoDB Atlas: our database, hosted in Sydney.
• Hostinger: web hosting.
• Cloudflare: network delivery and security, including the security check on sign-up, and storage for profile photos and wine images.
• Resend: sends our emails.
• Stripe: Premium payments.
• Google Fonts: the site's typefaces, which your browser downloads from Google.

Some of these companies store or process information outside Australia, including in the United States. We use providers that protect personal information to a standard comparable to Australian law.

Keeping and deleting your information

We keep your information while you have an account. You can delete your account at any time from your profile. This permanently removes your account, reviews, lists and likes. Stripe and our email provider may keep records of payments and emails sent for as long as the law requires. Copies in our backups are deleted as those backups expire.

Seeing and correcting your information

You can see and change most of your details on your profile page. To ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, or to correct anything you can't change yourself, email [email protected]. We'll reply within 30 days.

Security

All connections to The Vine are encrypted, passwords are hashed, and access to our systems is limited to the people who run the site. No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we'll tell you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as the law requires.

Age

The Vine is about alcohol, so it's for people aged 18 and over. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone younger.

Questions and complaints

If you have a question or a concern about your privacy, email [email protected] and we'll respond within 30 days. If you're not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change significantly affects how we use your information, we'll also let account holders know by email.