WHO WE ARE
Exploring Food, Wine, and Spirits
Last Updated: May 2026
At Exploring Food, Wine, and Spirits, we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, exploringfoodwinespirits.com (the “Site”), and use our services, including our email newsletter.
1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We collect information in several ways:
A. Information You Provide Directly:
– Email address when you subscribe to our newsletter via our subscription form
– Name (optional) when you subscribe
– Comments on blog posts (if you choose to leave comments)
– Contact form submissions
– Any other information you choose to provide through our Site
B. Information Collected Automatically:
– Browser type and operating system
– Pages visited and time spent on pages
– Referring website
– IP address
– Cookie information (see Cookies section below)
– Analytics data about your interaction with our Site
C. Third-Party Information:
– We may receive information from third-party services like ConvertKit (our email marketing platform) and Google Analytics
2. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
– To send you our weekly email newsletter with recipes, wine and spirits pairings, and entertaining ideas (only if you’ve subscribed)
– To respond to your inquiries and customer service requests
– To improve and optimize our Site
– To monitor and analyze trends and usage
– To detect and prevent fraud and technical issues
– To personalize your experience
– To comply with legal obligations
3. EMAIL NEWSLETTER AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
When you subscribe to our email newsletter:
– Your email address is stored securely with ConvertKit, our email service provider
– You will receive weekly emails with recipes, wine and spirits pairings, and entertaining ideas
– You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any email
– We will never sell or share your email address with third parties for marketing purposes
– We may use your email to send you occasional announcements about new content or important updates to our Site
4. AFFILIATE LINKS AND DISCLOSURES
We are transparent about our affiliate relationships:
– Affiliate links are clearly marked with [AFFILIATE LINK] throughout our posts
– We only recommend products and brands we genuinely believe in and have tested or researched
– Our recommendations are based on quality, usefulness, and relevance to our audience
– We do not allow affiliate relationships to influence our editorial content or recommendations
– A complete affiliate disclosure statement appears at the top of every blog post containing affiliate links
Brands and retailers whose products we feature through affiliate links include:
– Specialty cooking ingredient suppliers
– Kitchen equipment retailers
– Wine and spirits retailers
– Food and entertaining resource websites
You are never obligated to purchase through our affiliate links. You may always purchase directly from retailers if you prefer.
5. COOKIES AND TRACKING
Our Site uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience:
– Functionality cookies: Remember your preferences and settings
– Analytics cookies: Help us understand how you use our Site (via Google Analytics)
– Third-party cookies: Used by our email marketing platform and other service providers
You can control cookie settings through your browser. If you disable cookies, some features of our Site may not function properly.
We do not use tracking pixels or retargeting cookies to follow your behavior across the internet.
6. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES
Our Site uses the following third-party services:
– ConvertKit: Email marketing platform (see their privacy policy at convertkit.com)
– Google Analytics: Website analytics (see their privacy policy at google.com/analytics/terms)
– Elementor: Website page builder
– Astra: WordPress theme
– WP Recipe Maker: Recipe card functionality
– Hosting.com: Web hosting provider
These services may collect information about your use of our Site according to their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for their privacy practices.
7. DATA SECURITY
We take reasonable measures to protect your information:
– Our Site uses SSL encryption to protect data transmission
– Sensitive information is stored securely
– Access to personal information is restricted to authorized personnel only
However, no security system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information.
8. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information:
– Access: You can request access to the personal information we hold about you
– Correction: You can request that we correct inaccurate information
– Deletion: You can request that we delete your information (subject to legal retention requirements)
– Unsubscribe: You can unsubscribe from our email newsletter at any time
– Opt-out: You can opt out of analytics tracking through your browser settings
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@exploringfoodwinespirits.com.
9. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
Our Site is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected information from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at contact@exploringfoodwinespirits.com.
10. RECIPE AND CONTENT USAGE
All recipes, photography, and written content on our Site are the original work of Kelly and Rita Shadden and are protected by copyright.
Permitted Uses:
– Personal, non-commercial use
– Printing recipes for personal cooking
– Sharing links to our Site on social media
– Quoting small excerpts with proper attribution and link back to our Site
Prohibited Uses:
– Republishing entire recipes without permission
– Using our photography without permission
– Commercial use without written permission
– Copying our content and claiming it as your own
For commercial licensing or reprinting inquiries, contact kelly@exploringfoodwinespirits.com.
11. LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES
Our Site may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.
12. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of material changes by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page. Your continued use of our Site after changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.
13. CONTACT US
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:
Email: contact@exploringfoodwinespirits.com
Website: exploringfoodwinespirits.com
Kelly and Rita
Exploring Food, Wine, and Spirits
This Privacy Policy is effective as of May 2026 and was last updated in May 2026.