Welcome to the Wine Walk

The Premier Tasting Event on the Peninsula!

Welcome to Downtown San Mateo's 13th Annual Wine Walk! We are pleased to host you in our neighborhood while you visit over 30 of our participating businesses to sample some of Northern California's finest wines.

Some IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW
about the Wine Walk

Because this event is a celebration of fine wines, we operate under the laws and regulations established by the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) for festivals and events. We also are very concerned about your safety and well being and want everyone to have an enjoyable evening and return home safely.

We ask that you respect the following rules in order for Downtown San Mateo to continue into the future with this highly popular event and for you to have a terrific evening.

All of our visitors who are planning on sampling the wines must show proof of legal drinking age when purchasing your wine glass the day of the event or if you purchase in advance, you will need to present your photo identification when redeeming the advance ticket the day of the event for the glass. Each participant will have a wristband attached by one of our volunteers and each participant must personally come to a wine glass sales table to do that. One person cannot pick up wristbands for a group. The wristband is the proof of legal drinking age as well as proof of payment of the participation fee.

When you arrive at the wine glass sales area we will collect your payment (or redeem your advance sale ticket), you will show proof of identification, you will receive your wine glass, wristband, 10 wine tasting tickets and a program guide. You will then be free to roam about the Downtown enjoying your wine tasting within our businesses or wine garden while listening to live entertainment on two stages.

There will be a wine glass sales and pick-up area the day of the event at Third and Ellsworth. Parking is available throughout the Downtown and you can take a look at a map on the Downtown San Mateo Association website to determine which is the most convenient location for you to park. Or, avoid parking altogether and take SamTrans or Caltrain to the event. Taking public transportation is a great way for you to attend. What could be easier!

The Wine Walk is a tasting event that is designed to allow you to sample a wide variety of different wines. The amount of wine that is poured as a sample tasting is controlled to a limit of approximately 1.25 ounces. We are required under our ABC license that the tasting take place within the street closure boundaries or on premises, so if you are in a business that is not within the street closure area, we ask that you complete your tasting experience within the business before strolling to the next location. Signs will be posted and boundaries clearly marked so you will know where you can or can not go with wine in your glass.

We appreciate your help in observing these rules and hope you enjoy Wine Walk 2008! We look forward to your visit and hope you come back.