Privacy notice
Updated November 12, 2026
This notice describes the Halifax International Wine Festival web guide and installed web app. Browsing, saving wines and festival voting do not require an account. The festival website, ticket seller and linked retailers have their own privacy notices.
Information on your device
My Wines stores separate saved-wine and tasted-wine identifiers in this browser for each festival. A downloaded guide stores published festival content and app files for offline use. These saved lists are not synced to an account. Clearing this site’s browser data removes saved wines, tasting selections, downloads and privacy preferences; using another browser or web address gives you a separate list.
Festival voting
Voting does not need sign-in or an email address. When you first submit a ballot, the guide sets a random voting cookie in this browser. The server stores only a keyed code made from that cookie, your category choices, a ballot revision and timestamps, so this browser can see and change its own ballot until voting closes. To limit automated or repeated voting, it also stores a keyed code made from your network address; this code is not your address and is cleared after the festival. This discourages repeat voting but cannot prevent it: another browser or device, or clearing this site’s data, starts a new ballot. Authorized staff see only aggregate results.
Sign-in
Sign-in is not used for guest voting. If sign-in voting is offered again, the following applies. If you choose to sign in, Supabase processes your email address, account identifier and authentication records. Google sign-in, when available, also supplies the account information you authorize Google to share, such as your name, email and profile image. Authentication cookies keep you signed in. Sign-in email delivery uses the configured email provider, which may include Brevo.
Sign-in voting stores your account identifier, festival membership, category choices, ballot revision and timestamps. Your email identifies your account and helps control duplicate votes. Your account can access its own ballot. Authorized staff can review aggregate results and audit records; privileged service operators can access stored records for administration. A submitted festival ballot is final across both tastings. Signing in does not submit a ballot or subscribe you to marketing.
Optional Wine Fest newsletter
You can choose “Email me Wine Fest news, future events, and offers.” at the bottom of Home or after you vote. The checkbox is optional and starts unchecked. Browsing, saved wines and voting remain available without subscribing, and voting never subscribes you.
When you enter your email address and choose to subscribe, Brevo sends you a confirmation email. You are added to the newsletter only after you tap the link in that email. We record your email address, the consent wording and version, the notice shown, where you signed up, the date and time, and whether the confirmation email was sent. To limit misuse, we also store a keyed code made from your network address; this code is not your address and is cleared after the festival. If sign-in voting is offered again, a signed-in guest can instead subscribe with their verified account email, and we record that account with the same consent details.
Brevo processes your email address, the confirmation and your newsletter-list membership to send marketing for DeWolf Food & Wine Experiences Inc. We do not automatically add voters or sign-in accounts to the newsletter. You can unsubscribe using the link in a marketing email or contact eatdrinkhalifax@gmail.com to withdraw consent. Existing unsubscribe and block settings are respected. We retain consent records to document your choice and handle requests; contact us about access or deletion.
Optional analytics
Google Analytics is off unless the service is configured and you allow it in the optional prompt on your first guide page or in Privacy settings. The prompt offers Allow and No thanks; either choice dismisses it for this browser and web address until you clear site data. It can use cookies and receive technical connection information and activity such as page visits, wine views, saves, marking or unmarking tasted wines and link clicks. We use anonymous activity totals for festival and partner reports, including per-wine and per-exhibitor, producer or sponsor totals. The guide’s events exclude typed search text, email addresses and URL query strings. Advertising signals and ad personalization are disabled in the guide’s configuration. Events while offline are dropped, with no analytics queue or server database writes.
You can decline or withdraw analytics without losing guide features. The app also respects Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control browser signals. Analytics is excluded from sign-in, administration, voting and these legal/support pages. Changing your choice affects future collection; it does not erase information already received by a provider.
Service providers and operational records
Vercel hosts the guide and Supabase supplies authentication, database and media services. These services may process IP addresses, request details and security logs to deliver and protect the service. Staff accounts also have access permissions, authentication factors and audit records. Providers may process information outside Canada, where it may be subject to local laws. Contact us for details about the deployment’s providers and processing locations.
Retention, access and deletion requests
Local saved wines, tasting selections and downloads remain until removed through the app, cleared in your browser, or evicted by the browser. Signing out does not delete an account or voting history. Server records and backups are not automatically erased when you close the guide; retention periods for this service are still being finalized.
For access, correction, account deletion, consent withdrawal or a privacy complaint, write to festival owner Mark DeWolf at eatdrinkhalifax@gmail.com with the subject “Wine Fest privacy”. Describe your request without sending a password, sign-in code or identity document. We may need to verify account ownership. Ask which records can be removed and which must be retained for security, dispute resolution or legal obligations.
If a privacy concern is not resolved, you can seek guidance from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Updates
This notice will be revised when the guide’s data practices change. Review the date above and your privacy settings. New optional uses require a separate choice; use of the guide is not consent to optional analytics.