Who we are
Essencia Vins Bières Spiritueux is a wine, beer and spirits import agency in Quebec. In this policy, “we” means Essencia.
- Business
- Essencia Vins Bières Spiritueux
- Contact person
- Peter Bakalis
- Phone
- 514 714-2286
- Mailing address
- 2529 Rue Hémon, Laval, QC H7T 2N8
What we collect
We only collect what we need, and only what you give us yourself.
If you sign up for the newsletter
- your name
- your email address
- the date you signed up, the site language and the page where you filled in the form, as proof of your consent
- your device’s IP address and browser type, which our automation service receives automatically with every sign-up, like any web server. We don’t record them, except when a technical error occurs: the error log, which contains them, is then deleted automatically after 30 days at most.
If you email or call us
We receive what you choose to send us: your name, your email address or phone number, the name of your business if applicable, and what you’re asking about (for example, the wines and how many cases you’re interested in).
Technical data
Like any website, the server that hosts this site logs technical data (IP address, browser type, page requested, date and time) to keep the site secure and working. The site is hosted by Namecheap, on servers in the United States (Phoenix, Arizona), and Namecheap keeps these logs under its own rules. We don’t use them to identify you or to track your visits.
What we don’t collect
The site has no customer accounts and no online payment. We don’t sell wine: the SAQ does. So we never ask for payment information.
The request form
The request form (it opens from a product page or the Contact page) is for sending us a request or a question. It never asks for any payment.
What it collects
- whether you’re a restaurant, a hotel, an individual or other, if you say
- your name and, for a restaurant or hotel, the business name, if you give it
- your email address or phone number (at least one of the two)
- the product you’re interested in, the number of cases or bottles, the SAQ store where you want to pick up your wines (if you give it) and your message
- the site language and page, and the time the form was opened and then sent, to block automated submissions (spam)
- your device’s IP address and browser type, which the automation service receives automatically with every request, like any web server (we don’t use them to identify you)
Why
To answer your request. If you want a private import wine, we also use it to place the order with the SAQ on your behalf: the SAQ then receives your name and the store you picked.
Who sees it
Peter Bakalis and, where applicable, the people who work with him. The form goes through n8n Cloud, an automation service from n8n GmbH (Berlin, Germany) that our web provider, Always Ahead AI, runs for us. n8n Cloud records your request, then forwards it to us by email through Namecheap Private Email, so it’s also kept in our email system. These services handle the data outside Quebec: n8n Cloud in the European Union (on Microsoft Azure) and Namecheap Private Email in the United States.
How long we keep it
As long as we need it to handle your request and follow up on our business relationship, then 2 years at most after our last exchange. In n8n Cloud, we keep a copy of your request for 12 months at most, then delete it. We don’t record your IP address or browser there, except when a technical error occurs: the error log, which contains them, is then deleted automatically after 30 days at most.
Your rights
You can see this information, have it corrected or have it deleted (see Your rights). Rather not use the form? Email pbakalis@essenciavins.com or call 514 714-2286.
Why we use it
- The newsletter: to send you our news, new arrivals, tastings and the wine shows where you can find us.
- Your requests: to answer you, advise you and, if you want a private import wine, place the order with the SAQ for you.
We don’t use your information for anything else without asking you first. We don’t sell it, rent it or trade it.
Your consent and how to withdraw it
We only add you to the newsletter if you tick the consent box yourself. It is never pre-ticked.
You can withdraw your consent at any time, at no cost and without giving a reason:
- by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any of our emails
- or by emailing pbakalis@essenciavins.com
We process unsubscribe requests promptly, within 10 business days at the latest, as Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) requires.
When you email or call us, you agree that we use your contact details to reply. You can ask us to delete them; we will, unless a law requires us to keep them.
Who can see it
- Essencia: Peter Bakalis and, where applicable, the people who work with him and need it to help you.
- Our newsletter service: not chosen yet. For now we keep the sign-up list in our automation service (below) and send no newsletter. Before the first one goes out, we’ll name here the service that will send the emails on our behalf. A written agreement will require it to protect your information and not to use it for anything else.
- Our automation service: n8n Cloud, from n8n GmbH, run for us by our web provider, Always Ahead AI. It receives the requests sent with the request form and the newsletter sign-ups, records them and forwards them to us by email, through Namecheap Private Email. A written agreement requires each of them to protect your information and not to use it for anything else.
- The SAQ: only if you want a private import wine, for the order we place for you (for example, your name and the SAQ store you picked).
We don’t share your information with anyone else unless the law requires it.
Where it’s stored
Your information is kept in our email system and, for the request form and newsletter sign-ups, with our automation service. These services may store data outside Quebec. The ones the site uses do:
- n8n Cloud, our automation service, in the European Union (on Microsoft Azure)
- Namecheap Private Email, which emails us the form requests and the sign-up notices, in the United States
- Namecheap, which hosts the site and its technical logs, in the United States (Phoenix, Arizona)
Before we entrust information to a service outside Quebec, we check that it will be adequately protected there, as Quebec law requires.
How long we keep it
- The newsletter: as long as you’re subscribed. After you unsubscribe, we keep only your email address on a do-not-email list, so we don’t write to you again, and the proof of your consent for 3 years.
- Your messages: as long as we need them to handle your request and follow up on our business relationship, then 2 years at most after our last exchange.
- The request form: the copy kept in n8n Cloud, 12 months at most (see The request form).
- Private import orders: as long as tax and accounting laws require.
After that, we destroy it securely.
How we protect it
We take reasonable steps to protect your information: only the people who need it have access, and our accounts (email, automation service, site hosting) are password-protected.
If a privacy incident ever posed a risk of serious harm, we would notify you and the Commission d’accès à l’information, as the law requires.
Your rights
At any time, you can:
- find out what information we hold about you and get a copy
- have it corrected if it’s inaccurate or incomplete
- withdraw your consent to the newsletter or to any other use
- ask us to delete your information when we no longer need it
- receive the information you gave us in a structured, commonly used technological format
Write to the person in charge (next section). We reply in writing within 30 days. We may ask you to confirm your identity first.
Complaints: write to the person in charge (below). We acknowledge receipt within 5 business days and reply in writing within 30 days. If you’re not satisfied with our answer, you can contact the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec (opens in a new tab), Quebec’s privacy regulator.
Person in charge
The person in charge of the protection of personal information at Essencia is:
Cookies and tracking
This site sets no cookies and uses no tracking tools: no analytics, no advertising pixels, no targeted ads. That’s why no banner asks you to accept cookies.
Fonts and images are served from our own site, so your browser doesn’t need to contact Google or any other service to display our pages.
Links to SAQ.com and to winery websites take you to sites with their own privacy rules.
If we ever add an analytics tool, we’ll update this policy first, and any non-essential cookie will stay off until you accept it.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we’ll update the date below.
Last updated: