LI Wine Guide

Editorial Standards

These are the rules that govern what gets published on LI Wine Guide: how we report, what we verify, how often we re-check it, and where commercial relationships stop.

Reporting and sourcing

Coverage is based on first-hand visits, wines tasted, and direct conversations with producers and operators. Where a fact comes from a business rather than from our own observation — hours, capacity, a reservation policy, an ownership change — it is attributed to that source. We do not publish assessments of wines we have not tasted or tasting rooms we have not visited, and we do not present aggregated third-party listings as our own reporting.

Verification and freshness

Practical details go stale faster than editorial judgement, so we treat them differently. Hours, tasting fees, reservation requirements and seasonal closures always link to the operator's own page, which is the only authoritative source. Directory entries carry a last-verified date and are re-checked on a rolling schedule, with a shorter cycle for seasonal information ahead of spring and autumn. An automated monthly audit flags entries that have thinned out or gone stale so they can be rewritten or removed rather than quietly left up.

Rankings and recommendations

Roundups and "best of" pieces state their criteria. Placement is editorial and cannot be bought, and no producer, restaurant or hotel receives coverage, position or a higher assessment in exchange for payment, advertising, hospitality or product. If a business is a commercial partner in any capacity and also appears in editorial coverage, the relationship is disclosed on that page.

Corrections

We correct factual errors promptly and label meaningful changes rather than editing silently. Substantive updates to an article carry a revised date; corrections of fact are logged on the corrections page. Readers and operators can report an error through the contact page or from any listing page.

AI and content generation

Editorial judgement, assessments and recommendations are human. Where automated tooling assists with drafting, summarising or structuring routine material, the result is reviewed and edited by a person before publication, and it is never used to invent first-hand experience, tasting notes or verified details.

Monetisation boundary

Affiliate links and any display advertising are separated from editorial decisions. Commercial links are marked or disclosed, advertising is not integrated into editorial recommendations, and the funding arrangement is described in full on the affiliate disclosure page. Reader trust is the only asset this site has; the rules above exist to protect it.

Responsible drinking

This site is written for readers of legal drinking age. Coverage of tasting-room visits consistently addresses transportation, because the practical reality of wine country is that the drinking and the driving happen in the same afternoon.