General Terms and Conditions of Thomas Gutheil, Am Knick 4b, 23843 Bad Oldesloe, Germany (hereinafter the “Provider”) for the use of the website “Wine all the Way”
1. General Provisions and Scope of Services
1.1 The Provider operates the website “Wine all the Way” (hereinafter the “Website”), through which digital content and digital services relating to wine are offered. The Website comprises the following areas:
1.1.1 MAG / Magazine section: a freely accessible editorial section in which articles and other content can be accessed free of charge;
1.1.2 Digital content (e.g. PDF and audio downloads): digital content, in particular PDF and audio files, offered as one-off purchases at a specified price. The content is provided digitally and immediately after purchase by means of a functional download link;
1.1.3 Digital services (e.g. wine quizzes): access to individual quizzes for a fixed term of 365 days from conclusion of the contract, purchased on a one-off basis. This is not a subscription. At the end of the 365-day period, the access entitlement ends automatically without any further charge;
1.2 Contractual Structure for Paid Digital Products (Merchant of Record)
The following contractual structure applies to the purchase of paid digital products (PDF and audio downloads and access to wine quizzes): the Provider uses Sold through Link, LLC f/k/a Lemon Squeezy LLC, 354 Oyster Point Blvd., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA, operating under the name “Lemon Squeezy” (hereinafter “Lemon Squeezy”), for payment processing and the conclusion of the purchase contract with the Customer. Lemon Squeezy acts as the Merchant of Record (MoR). Lemon Squeezy is the Customer’s contractual party to the purchase contract (B2C purchase contract). The Provider and Lemon Squeezy are connected by a separate MoR partner agreement. The Customer concludes the purchase contract for the paid digital products directly with Lemon Squeezy. Following successful payment via Lemon Squeezy, the Provider grants the Customer the contractually agreed rights of use in digital content or access to digital services (User Agreement between the Provider and the Customer). These Terms and Conditions govern the User Agreement between the Provider and the Customer; the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions, which are made available to the Customer during the purchase process, apply additionally to the purchase contract.
1.3 These Terms and Conditions apply to the User Agreement between the Provider and the Customer in relation to the Website and the digital content and digital services offered through the Website. The purchase contract for paid digital products is concluded between the Customer and Lemon Squeezy; the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions apply to that purchase contract.
1.4 Any terms and conditions used by the Customer that deviate from these Terms and Conditions shall not be recognised by the Provider unless expressly agreed. Individually agreed terms take precedence over these Terms and Conditions.
2. Subject Matter of the Contract and Services
2.1 Editorial content and articles are made available free of charge in the MAG / Magazine section. Registration is not required for this section.
2.2 Digital content: For PDF and audio downloads (digital content within the meaning of Section 327(2), sentence 1 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB)), the Customer receives immediate access, following successful payment via Lemon Squeezy, to the functional download link for the digital content purchased, e.g. a PDF or audio file. The Provider’s contractual performance (granting the rights of use and providing the functional download link) is deemed completed when Lemon Squeezy has successfully provided the functional download link. The purchase contract for the digital content (e.g. a PDF or audio download) is concluded between the Customer and Lemon Squeezy. After the Customer has been informed, before submitting the contractual declaration, of the right of withdrawal and the conditions under which it may expire early, the Customer expressly consents on the Provider’s Website to performance beginning before expiry of the withdrawal period and acknowledges that, where the statutory requirements are met, the Customer’s right of withdrawal expires when performance of the contract begins, in this case upon provision of the functional download link. The Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions, which are made available to the Customer during the purchase process, apply to the purchase contract.
2.3 Digital services: For wine quizzes (digital services within the meaning of Section 327(2), sentence 2 BGB), the Customer receives immediate access to the quiz purchased following successful payment via Lemon Squeezy. The access entitlement is limited to 365 days from conclusion of the contract. Access ends automatically upon expiry of that period. There is no automatic renewal and no further charge. Further access requires a new and separate purchase contract. The purchase contract for quiz access is concluded between the Customer and Lemon Squeezy. The statutory right of withdrawal generally applies for 14 days from conclusion of the contract. Activation of quiz access does not, in itself, cause the right of withdrawal to expire early. The Customer expressly requests and agrees that quiz access is to be activated immediately after purchase and therefore before expiry of the withdrawal period. If the Customer exercises the right of withdrawal within the withdrawal period, the Customer may, where the statutory requirements are met, be required to pay an appropriate amount for the services provided up to the time of withdrawal. In any event, the right of withdrawal expires upon expiry of the statutory withdrawal period; where the service has been fully performed, it may expire earlier under the conditions set out in Section 356(5) BGB. The Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions, which are made available to the Customer during the purchase process, apply additionally to the purchase contract.
2.4 The Provider may send the Customer service communications shortly before and/or after the access entitlement to a wine quiz expires. These communications are for information purposes only and do not give rise to any entitlement to an extension of the access period.
3. Availability and Technical Disruptions
3.1 The Provider endeavours to make the Website and the services offered available with an annual average availability of 98.5%. Necessary maintenance work and periods during which availability is restricted due to events for which the Provider is not responsible are excluded from this figure (e.g. force majeure, acts of third parties, technical problems, cyberattacks, DDoS attacks, or failures affecting hosting, server, plugin or software providers). This also applies to failures in payment processing via Lemon Squeezy over which the Provider has no control.
3.2 The Provider remedies functional disruptions without undue delay, subject to technical feasibility. A functional disruption exists where the Website or the digital products offered cannot be used for their intended purpose or otherwise fail to function properly.
3.3 Temporary or longer-term failures, restrictions or interruptions of the Website or quiz access do not automatically give rise to claims for repayment, refunds, price reductions or other compensation where the Provider is not responsible for the failure. This applies in particular to failures caused by maintenance work, technical disruptions, cyberattacks or failures affecting third-party providers. The Customer’s statutory remedies in respect of lack of conformity of digital products remain unaffected. Claims by the Customer against Lemon Squeezy arising from the purchase contract (e.g. a refund where the product has not been provided) are governed by the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions.
3.4 The Provider reserves the right to modify the content, functions, prices, technical structures and the Website as a whole, i.e. to expand, restrict or discontinue them, where this is necessary for content-related, technical or economic reasons. This includes, in particular, modifications required to maintain security, functionality or compatibility or to comply with statutory or regulatory requirements. Where modifications go beyond what is necessary to maintain conformity with the contract, the Provider will inform the Customer clearly and comprehensibly. If a modification adversely affects the Customer’s access to or use of the digital product to more than a minor extent, the Provider will inform the Customer within a reasonable period before the modification, by means of a durable medium, of the features and timing of the modification and of the Customer’s rights under Section 327r(3) and (4) BGB. In such a case, the Customer may terminate the contract free of charge within 30 days. There is no right to terminate where the adverse effect is only minor or where the Customer continues to have access to the unchanged digital product without additional cost. Price changes for future purchases will be shown during the Lemon Squeezy purchase process.
4. Registration and Conclusion of Contract
4.1 Registration on the Website is required in order to access paid digital services (e.g. wine quizzes). Registration is restricted to natural persons of legal age. The Provider does not itself sell alcoholic beverages through the Website. Where the Website refers or links to third-party offers, in particular wine shops, the applicable age and purchase requirements of those third parties apply.
4.2 A user account is required to use the wine quizzes. Following a successful purchase via Lemon Squeezy, the quiz access purchased is assigned to an existing user account or, where necessary, a user account is created for the Customer. The paid User Agreement for the wine quiz becomes effective when quiz access is activated.
4.3 The purchase contract for digital content (e.g. a PDF or audio download) or a digital service (e.g. a wine quiz) is concluded between the Customer and Lemon Squeezy by clicking the order button and confirming the payment information on the Lemon Squeezy checkout page. Lemon Squeezy confirms receipt of the order without undue delay by email (order confirmation/invoice). The Provider is informed of the successful purchase. For PDF and audio downloads, Lemon Squeezy provides the Customer with the functional download link; for wine quizzes, the Provider activates the quiz access purchased following successful purchase. The paid User Agreement between the Provider and the Customer becomes effective when the digital content is provided or the quiz access is activated, as applicable. The details of the conclusion of the purchase contract (including electronic signature) are governed by the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions.
5. Scope of Use
5.1 The Provider grants the Customer a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the content purchased solely for personal, non-commercial purposes; in the case of digital services (e.g. wine quizzes), this right is limited to the contractual term.
5.2 The Customer must not disclose access credentials to third parties. The Customer is required to keep access credentials confidential and to ensure that unauthorised third parties do not gain access to them.
5.3 The Customer may not reproduce, distribute, communicate to the public or otherwise exploit PDF or audio downloads or quiz content except to the extent necessary for personal use. In particular, unauthorised disclosure, publication or uploading of the content to third-party platforms is prohibited.
5.4 In the event of serious or repeated infringements of the rights of use, in particular unauthorised sharing of content or access credentials, the Provider may, subject to the statutory requirements, suspend access and terminate the contract without notice for good cause. Where required by law, the Customer will first receive a warning or be given a reasonable period in which to remedy the breach. Any claims the Customer may have against Lemon Squeezy under the purchase contract remain unaffected.
6. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
6.1 The Provider may use artificial intelligence technologies (AI tools) to support the creation of content for the Website in the course of providing the services. This includes, in particular:
- the creation or revision of editorial articles and content for the MAG / Magazine section;
- the generation of questions and answers for the wine quizzes;
- support in creating digital content, e.g. PDF and audio downloads.
- No separate provision is made for the transfer of rights of use in AI-generated content. The grant of rights of use in the digital content purchased (e.g. PDF and audio downloads and wine quizzes) is governed exclusively by Clause 5 of these Terms and Conditions.
- The Provider labels AI-generated or AI-assisted content where this is required by law. In addition, the Provider provides general information on the Website about the use of AI as a supporting tool in content creation.
7. Customer Obligations
7.1 The Customer is required to keep the information provided during registration up to date at all times and to refrain from any breach of these Terms and Conditions or applicable law.
7.2 The Customer undertakes to use the Website and the services offered only for their intended purpose and to comply with all contractual and statutory requirements when using them. Any use beyond the purpose of the User Agreement is prohibited.
7.3 In particular, the Customer must not:
- register on the Website multiple times under different identities;
- disseminate false or misleading statements within the Website;
- use the Website for advertising or other commercial purposes;
- threaten, insult or harass other customers or otherwise infringe their rights;
- breach these Terms and Conditions or applicable law (e.g. copyright or trade mark law) when using the Website;
- collect data from the Website by automated means (e.g. using crawlers);
- disseminate within the Website pornographic, racist, violence-glorifying or violence-trivialising, hate-inciting, right-wing extremist, anti-constitutional or other content that is contrary to applicable law or public morals.
8. Charges and Payment Terms
8.1 The prices for the digital products offered are displayed to the Customer on the Provider’s Website and during the Lemon Squeezy purchase process before conclusion of the contract. All prices are total prices inclusive of statutory VAT. VAT is collected and remitted by Lemon Squeezy as Merchant of Record in accordance with the applicable tax rules, in particular the One Stop Shop (OSS) scheme.
8.2 Payment is processed exclusively through Lemon Squeezy as Merchant of Record. Lemon Squeezy makes available to the Customer the payment methods offered during the purchase process. The Provider has no influence over the payment methods offered or the processing of payments. Lemon Squeezy collects the purchase price from the Customer and pays the Provider the net proceeds in accordance with the MoR partner agreement between the Provider and Lemon Squeezy.
8.3 The Customer may address requests for refunds or cancellations to the Provider. The Provider will review the request and, where applicable, arrange a refund through Lemon Squeezy. As the purchase contract is concluded with Lemon Squeezy, the technical and payment-side processing is carried out by Lemon Squeezy. Lemon Squeezy retains its own decision-making powers under its Buyer Terms and Conditions, in particular in connection with chargebacks. Mandatory statutory rights remain unaffected.
9. Suspension of the Customer Account
9.1 The Provider may suspend the Customer’s account if the Customer is in payment default (as determined and communicated by Lemon Squeezy) or where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the Customer is using the Website unlawfully or in breach of contract. The details governing payment default as between the Customer and Lemon Squeezy are set out in the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions. Lemon Squeezy informs the Provider if the Customer is in payment default.
9.2 Information from courts, authorities, Lemon Squeezy or other third parties indicating possible unlawful use or use in breach of contract may give the Provider grounds to investigate. Reasonable grounds for suspicion exist where, following such review, there are specific factual indications of unlawful use or use in breach of contract. The Customer will be informed without undue delay of any suspension and the reasons for it. Unless immediate suspension is required for legal, security-related or other urgent reasons, the Customer will first be given an opportunity to respond. The suspension will be lifted as soon as the grounds justifying it no longer exist.
10. Term and Termination
10.1 For PDF and audio downloads, the Provider’s performance obligations are fulfilled when a functional download link has been provided and the rights of use have been granted. The personal rights of use granted to the Customer generally continue thereafter. The purchase contract with Lemon Squeezy is completed in accordance with the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions, in particular upon full payment and provision of the digital content.
10.2 For digital services (e.g. wine quizzes), the contract ends automatically 365 days after conclusion of the contract. There is no automatic renewal. The right to terminate the contract without notice for good cause remains unaffected. In particular, the Provider may terminate without notice where the Customer fails to pay amounts due despite a reminder and the setting of an additional period for payment (payment processing being carried out through Lemon Squeezy), or where the Customer intentionally or negligently breaches material contractual provisions governing use of the Website.
10.3 Amounts due and paid for quiz access that has not been used in full will not be refunded to the extent permitted by law and provided that there is no valid exercise of the right of withdrawal, no justified claim based on lack of conformity and no other mandatory statutory entitlement to a refund. Where a consumer validly exercises the right of withdrawal, the statutory rules on reversing the contract apply; where the Customer requested activation of quiz access before expiry of the withdrawal period, a legally permissible payment for the services provided up to the time of withdrawal, or a proportionate amount, may be payable. Refund requests under the purchase contract should initially be addressed to the Provider. If a refund is granted, it is processed through Lemon Squeezy in accordance with the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions. This does not affect any claims the Customer may have against Lemon Squeezy as the Customer’s contractual party to the purchase contract.
11. Remedies for Lack of Conformity
11.1 The statutory provisions on the conformity of digital products and consumers’ remedies in the event of lack of conformity apply to the digital products offered.
11.2 For digital content (e.g. PDF and audio downloads), remedies for lack of conformity are governed by the statutory provisions applicable to digital products. The provision of a functional download link may be relevant to the technical provision of the content; however, this does not exclude the Customer’s statutory rights where a PDF or audio file lacks conformity in terms of its content or technical characteristics.
11.3 For digital services (e.g. wine quizzes), remedies for lack of conformity are likewise governed by the statutory provisions applicable to digital products. A lack of conformity may exist, in particular, where access to the quiz is unavailable or restricted during the agreed term of 365 days or where the quiz content provided falls short of the contractually agreed characteristics. The Customer’s statutory rights in respect of technical or content-related lack of conformity are not excluded.
11.4 In all other respects, remedies for lack of conformity and rights arising from failures in performance are governed by the statutory provisions. Lemon Squeezy, as the Customer’s contractual party to the purchase contract, is responsible for claims arising from lack of conformity under the purchase contract (e.g. non-provision, payment problems or refunds under the purchase contract); the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions apply additionally. For product-related issues and refund requests, the Customer should initially contact the Provider, who will assist the Customer and, where applicable, initiate a refund through Lemon Squeezy. Claims arising from the User Agreement against the Provider remain unaffected.
12. Liability and Indemnity
12.1 The Provider has unlimited liability on any legal ground in cases of intent or gross negligence, in the event of intentional or negligent injury to life, body or health, on the basis of a guarantee, unless otherwise provided in relation to that guarantee, or where liability is mandatory by law, for example under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz).
12.2 Where the Provider negligently breaches an essential contractual obligation, liability is limited to the loss or damage that is typical for the contract and foreseeable, unless liability is unlimited under the preceding Clause. Essential contractual obligations are obligations imposed on the Provider by the contract which are necessary to achieve the purpose of the contract, the fulfilment of which is essential to the proper performance of the contract and on compliance with which the Customer may regularly rely.
12.3 In all other respects, the Provider’s liability is excluded.
12.4 The foregoing limitations of liability shall also apply with regard to the Provider’s liability for legal representatives and persons whose services the Provider uses to perform the Provider’s obligations.
12.5 The Provider is not liable for disruptions, failures or errors in payment processing, invoicing, the withdrawal process or the refund process that fall within Lemon Squeezy’s area of responsibility. For claims of this kind, the Customer must refer to Lemon Squeezy as the Customer’s contractual party to the purchase contract. The Customer shall indemnify the Provider against justified third-party claims arising from an infringement of the rights of use governed by these Terms and Conditions for which the Customer is responsible. The indemnity also covers reasonable and necessary costs of legal defence. The Provider will inform the Customer without undue delay if any such claims are asserted. As between the Provider and Lemon Squeezy, the indemnity provisions of the Lemon Squeezy Seller Terms and Conditions apply.
12.6 In the event of force majeure within the meaning of Sections 275 and 313 BGB (unforeseeable external events that cannot be averted, such as natural disasters, pandemics, war, governmental measures, cyberattacks despite appropriate security measures, internet outages or failures of third-party providers), the statutory consequences apply: the obligation to perform is suspended or ceases in accordance with Section 275 BGB; where performance is permanently impossible, the entitlement to the counter-performance ceases; where performance is temporarily impossible, performance must be made up where this is reasonable. The Provider is not liable for loss or damage caused by force majeure where the Provider is not at fault. For details governing the relationship with Lemon Squeezy, reference is made to the force majeure provisions in the Lemon Squeezy Seller Terms and Conditions and Buyer Terms and Conditions.
13. Data Protection
13.1 The Provider processes personal data made available by the Customer for the purpose of performing the User Agreement in accordance with the applicable data protection legislation. Further information is provided in the Privacy Policy on the Website.
13.2 In connection with buyer-facing processing of the purchase contract, in particular checkout, payment and invoicing, tax handling, fraud prevention, chargebacks and refunds, Lemon Squeezy acts as an independent controller within the meaning of the GDPR. To the extent that Lemon Squeezy processes personal data solely on behalf of the Provider, it acts as a processor. The Provider receives from Lemon Squeezy only the order and customer data required to perform the User Agreement (e.g. name, email address, order identifier, product and order status). The Provider does not have access to full payment data such as credit card numbers or bank details. Further information on the respective roles and on data processing is provided in the Privacy Policy.
14. Final Provisions
14.1 The contracts between the Provider and the Customer are governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), provided that this choice of law does not deprive a consumer of the protection afforded by mandatory consumer protection provisions. The purchase contract between the Customer and Lemon Squeezy is governed by the law specified in the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions. Mandatory consumer protection provisions of the country in which the consumer has his or her habitual residence remain unaffected.
14.2 The statutory rules on jurisdiction apply to consumers. If the Customer is a merchant, a legal person under public law or a special fund under public law, and an agreement on jurisdiction is legally permissible, the Provider’s place of business shall be the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising out of or in connection with the User Agreement between the Provider and the Customer. Mandatory statutory rules on jurisdiction remain unaffected. Disputes arising from the purchase contract between the Customer and Lemon Squeezy are governed by the jurisdiction provisions of the Lemon Squeezy Buyer Terms and Conditions.
14.3 The Provider may propose amendments to these Terms and Conditions to the Customer in text form. Amendments affecting existing contracts become effective only with the Customer’s express consent. Without such consent, the previous Terms and Conditions continue to apply.
14.4 As between the Provider and Lemon Squeezy, the Lemon Squeezy Seller Terms and Conditions apply. These govern, in particular, the administration of the MoR relationship between the Provider and Lemon Squeezy, the information provided to the Provider concerning data relevant to purchases and activation, Lemon Squeezy’s termination rights, payout holds and claw-back rights in cases of suspected fraud, as well as the Provider’s compliance obligations (in particular the prohibition of prohibited products, data accuracy and compliance with applicable law).
15. Consumer Dispute Resolution
We are neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer dispute resolution body. Our email address can be found in our Legal Notice.