Register to Pour

Thank you for your interest in joining us for the 4th annual Half Moon Bay Wine & Jazz Festival. We’re very excited to showcase some of California’s best wines in Downtown Half Moon Bay.

Please read these rules carefully. To ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, the rules and regulations herein will be strictly enforced. If your winery is interested in participating, please complete and sign the form at the bottom of the page to register. If you have any questions please email [email protected]

Timeline

• March 28, 2025 – Registration Deadline. Wineries have to register by this date using the form below to pour at the event. Your participation fee for your standard tasting tent or your enhanced tasting experience at the wine walk are due upon registration. Regardless of deadline, only the first 50 wineries to register will be accepted. Wineries registering after the event is full will be place on a waiting list.
• March 28, 2025 – Deadline for registered wineries to submit content for your complimentary ¼ page advertorial (1 photo, 150 words about your winery/wines, URL, address) and if applicable purchased advertisements.
• March 28, 2025 – Deadline for registered wineries to submit the 2 – 4 varietals that will be poured during the event and (optionally) sold in the Wine Sales area. For wine sales, submit retail pricing before tax, varietals, number of bottles (up to 4 cases total), and a short description per varietal (do NOT include vintages).
• May 5, 2025 – Deadline for registered wineries to submit a copy of their ABC permit to sell wine bottles at Wines Sales the day of the event.

Registration

• Participation is limited to the first 50 wineries who register. Enhanced tasting experiences are available based on first come first serve (12 prime end caps; 4 premium lounges).
• Registration is subject to approval by the Half Moon Bay Downtown Association.
• Proof of Insurance must be submitted within 14 days of submission of registration to reserve your booth. We require a Certificate of Insurance with minimum General Liability, including Liquor Liability, coverage limits of $1,000,000 each occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate and an Additional Insured naming the City of Half Moon Bay AND the Half Moon Bay Downtown Association. (There are low-cost event or yearly policies available through rlicorp.com and actinsurance.com)

Organizers will provide:

Participating Wineries will bring

• 2-4 varietals in sufficient quantities to pour 1,000 (one thousand) one ounce tastings (approx. 42 bottles across all varietals)
• Standard Tasting Tent: A minimum of 2 representatives to pour wine to help prevent long lines
  Prime Tasting End Cap: 3 representatives
  Premium Tasting Lounge: 4 representatives
  Wines Sales: 1 representative.
• Corkscrews/bottle opener
• Ice Container
• Napkins
• Water for rinsing
• Dump Buckets
• Signage – all signs and banners must affixed to the tent or table, or kept within the pouring area. No freestanding signs are allowed in the public walkways.
• Winery marketing material, e.g. wine club info, postcards, brochures, business cards
• Do not bring cups or glasses or any kind into the tasting area. Wine should only be poured into labelled event glassware.

Event Set-Up

• Please check-in to be assigned your pouring station and set up your table between 9:00 am and 11:00 am on the morning of the event.
• Drop off wines at the bottle booth between 9:00 am and 11:00 am on the morning of the event. No vehicle access to the unloading zone will be allowed after 11:00 am.
• Your pouring station should be set up and ready to pour no later than 11:45 am.
• Wineries & Vendors will be assigned spaces at the sole discretion of the organizers, who reserve the right to make necessary changes to assignments at any time prior to the start of the event.
• Please be kind to our volunteers. Wine festival volunteers are giving their time freely and should be respected and appreciated. Please be cooperative with their instructions.

Pouring

• Pouring may not start before 12:00 pm and must end at 5:00 pm.
• The winery will be responsible for only pouring to those participants with a wristband and labeled event wine glass, without exception. Any winery found pouring to non-ticket holders will be asked to stop pouring immediately and be barred from future events. To ensure compliance, anonymous volunteers will be monitoring the pouring stations throughout the day.
• To comply with Health Department requirements, wineries are not allowed to provide any food, including palate cleansers such as bread, crackers, cheese, fruits, etc. Still or sparkling water is permissible.
• You are responsible for supervising your tasting station during ALL festival hours.
• Assigned tasting stations may not be moved or changed.
• Non-service pets and children under 21 are not allowed in wine tasting booths.
• Your display area should be neat, free of storage boxes or clutter
• Wineries must store all wine cases below the table underneath the tablecloth so the cases are not visible.
• Amplification of music or voice, which could constitute a nuisance, is not permitted.
• Wineries & Vendors are responsible for securing your own table and product. The venue is accessible to the public and there is no available locked storage or other room to store products prior or after the event.

Event Take Down

• The take down period is 5:00 pm to 6:00pm, immediately after the event ends. Absolutely no break down or loading activity will be allowed prior to 5:00 pm.
• Wineries are responsible for breaking down their own tasting station (except provided tents and tables) at the end of the event.
• Table locations should be as clean as when you arrived, including removal of all trash.
• Please use the large wine dumpsters to discard left over or dumped wines only.
• All marketing materials, merchandise, trash, recyclables, and all other equipment must be removed from the festival area by 6:00 pm on the day of the event.

Wine Sales

• Wineries are not allowed to sell wines at their pouring station, please refer customers to the Wine Sales area.
• Your Wine Sales station will be managed by one of your representatives. If you wish to sell bottled wines for off-premises consumption at the festival’s Wine Sales area, Alcoholic Beverage Control procedures must be followed. You must apply for an ABC-239 permit to obtain a Type 81 license with an annual fee of $50.
• 30 to 3 days prior to the Half Moon Bay Wine & Jazz Fest event, the winery must submit form ABC-222 to the San Jose ABC office. The ABC San Jose approval must be shared with the Half Moon Bay Downtown Association.
• Only previously approved varietals are accepted for Wine Sales. Varietals/prices must be submitted by March 28, 2025.
• No varietal/quantity/price changes are allowed on the day of the event.

Promotion

• Please promote this event to your email lists, social media followers, and other methods you utilize to reach your customers.
• Wineries will be provided with a special discount code just for your customers after your registration is complete.
• After registration, we will provide graphics for use in Social Media and Direct Marketing, e.g. wine club member and customer newsletter, tasting room, etc.
• We appreciate your support in promoting the Half Moon Bay Wine & Jazz Festival. Please use hashtag #hmbwinejazz on social media so we can like, retweet, and otherwise promote your posts about the event.
• Event participants agree to allow the images included with their application or video/photographs taken at event/s to be used for publicity and advertising.
• Tickets can be purchased at https://hmbwineandjazzfest.com

Additional Terms

• Half Moon Bay Wine & Jazz Festival is a Rain or Shine event.
• The Wineries & Vendors will abide by all applicable laws, ordinances, and regulations pertaining to health, fire prevention, public safety, business licenses, and sales tax permits.
• Wineries that cancel their participation less than 90 days prior to the event may forfeit their ability to participate in the future.
• If weather, major disaster, or other circumstances beyond the control of the City of Half Moon Bay (City) or Half Moon Bay Downtown Association (Association) cause the cancellation of the Festival, the City or Association cannot be held liable.
• Neither the Half Moon Bay Downtown Association, the City of Half Moon Bay nor any of their officers, agents, volunteers, employees, independent contractors, or other representatives shall be held liable for, and they are expressly released from, liability for any damage, loss, harm or injury to the person or property of the exhibitor or any of its officers, agents, volunteers, employees, independent contractors or other representatives, resulting from theft, fire, water, accident or any other cause.
• Wineries & Vendors shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Half Moon Bay Downtown Association, the City of Half Moon Bay, and any of their officers, agents, volunteers, employees, independent contractors or other representatives (i) from and against any and all claims arising from any acts, failures to act, or negligence of Exhibitor/ applicant or any of its officers, agents, volunteers, employees, independent contractors or other representatives, (ii) from and against any and all claims arising from the breach of, or default in the performance of any obligation on exhibitor’s part to be performed under, these terms and conditions, and (iii) from and against all costs, attorney’s fees, expenses, and liabilities incurred in the defense of any such claim or any action.
• Under no circumstances shall Half Moon Bay Downtown Association or the City of Half Moon Bay be liable for consequential, indirect, special, or punitive damages of any kind, whether foreseeable or unforeseeable, whether based upon lost goodwill, lost profits, or otherwise, and whether arising out of breach of any express or implied warranty, breach of contract, negligence, misrepresentation, strict liability, or otherwise.