General Conditions of Sale
HOPWINE is a limited liability company with a capital of 30,000 euros registered with the Chalon-sur-Saône trade and companies register under number 888 562 931, and whose registered office is located at 48A Rue Louis Verchère, Sevrey (71100).
1 – Preamble
The hopwine.com website is an online platform that organises wine and spirits trade shows. The Site can be used to bring to the fore the wines and spirits of producers at a dedicated stand, organise virtual meetings with professionals in the area, and repackage wines and spirits in samples to send them in Boxes to interested professionals.
Registration for a Virtual Event organised by HOPWINE implies full and unreserved acceptance by the Exhibitor of these General Conditions.
2 – Definitions
“Bottle”: Means the 75 cl bottle of non-sparkling wines and/or spirits that must be reconditioned. The bottle must be shipped duty paid and have its commercial label and/or secondary label.
“Box”: Means the package containing the samples of Cuvées ordered by the Exhibitor and shipped by HOPWINE to the Selected Visitors.
“General Conditions”: Means these General Conditions of Service. These conditions are available on the Website, and must be read and accepted by the Exhibitor before placing an Order.
“Order”: Means the order formulated by the Exhibitor when they register on the Website to participate at a Virtual Event organised by HOPWINE.
“Agreement”: Means the agreement reached between HOPWINE and the Exhibitor after validation of the registration by HOPWINE and payment of the advance online by the Exhibitor. The contents of the Agreement is comprised of these General Conditions of Service.
“Cuvée”: Means the wines and/or spirits of the Exhibitor presented at the Virtual Event.
“Sample”: Means the 2 cl wine and/or spirits container made in accordance with the patented process of the company Vinovae (RCS LYON 819 680 041)
“Virtual Event”: Means the event organised by HOPWINE that allows virtual meetings to take place between Exhibitors and Visitors, as well as wine-tasting sessions under the conditions stipulated in article 4.
“Exhibitor”: Means a wine or spirits producer, a professional legal entity, that places an Order on the Website to participate at a Virtual Event.
“HOPWINE”: Means the company HOPWINE, the details of which are referred to above.
“Parties”: Means the Exhibitor and/or HOPWINE.
“Services”: Means the services provided by HOPWINE to an Exhibitor at a Virtual Event.
“Virtual Stand”: Means the virtual space of an Exhibitor created specifically by HOPWINE for the Virtual Event.
“Website”: Means the website hopwine.com and app.hopwine.com
“Visitors”: Means the professionals from the wine-growing sector (cellar masters – large and medium-sized retailers – importers – Specialist journalists – CHR (cafes, hotels, and restaurants) restaurants – E-commerce websites – Commercial agent, etc.) registered for the Virtual Event.
“Selected Visitors”: Means the Visitors to whom the Exhibitor wishes to give a Box. The Exhibitor validates the Selected Visitors by HOPWINE at the Virtual Event.
3 – Registration for Virtual Events
Prospective Participants can register to participate at a Virtual Event online, via the Website. HOPWINE reserves the right to refuse the online registration of an Exhibitor, in particular in the following cases:
- The offer of the Exhibitor is inconsistent with the positioning of the Virtual Event;
- The activity of the Exhibitor is inconsistent with the positioning of the Virtual Event;
- An absence of neutrality in the message disseminated by the Exhibitor at the Virtual Event;
- The existence of debts owed by the Exhibitor to HOPWINE or its partners;
- A session of the Virtual Event has the maximum number of registered participants.
HOPWINE will inform the Exhibitor that their registration has been declined by e-mail. The Exhibitor will be refunded any monies already paid. The decision to decline a registration is at the discretion of HOPWINE. It will not result in the payment of damages or interest. HOPWINE will also be entitled to refuse registrations sent after the registration deadline for a Virtual Event.
4 – Services provided by Hopwine to the Exhibitor
The validation of the registration of the Exhibitor for a Virtual Event by HOPWINE and the payment by the former of the advance stipulated in article 5 shall result in the definitive conclusion of the Agreement between the Parties. Within the framework of this Agreement, HOPWINE promises the Exhibitor that it will:
- Provide a Virtual Stand with the characteristics referred to on the Website;
- Help the Exhibitor prepare their Virtual Stand;
- Repackage its products for Selected Visitors as sample Boxes;
- Issue the Boxes to Selected Visitors;
- Ensure that the Virtual Event is organised for the dates agreed.
These Services will be provided by HOPWINE, on the condition that the Exhibitor has paid the fee applicable under the conditions set forth in article 5.
4.1 – Design of the Virtual Stand
HOPWINE will prepare a Virtual Stand for the Exhibitor using text, photos, and logos it has been provided by the Exhibitor. This Virtual Stand will be designed by HOPWINE and validated by the Exhibitor before it goes online. The Exhibitor promises to collaborate with HOPWINE in the communication of information required for the design of the Virtual Stand, and for the validation of the Stand before it goes online. The creation of the Virtual Stand by HOPWINE is limited to formatting the text and graphics of the Exhibitor, to the exclusion of the creation of any graphic or editorial content, as expressly recognised by the Exhibitor.
The Exhibitor declares and guarantees that it is the holder of the intellectual property rights to the text, photos, and logos on its Virtual Stand, or that it has been authorised by the holder of these rights to use them on its Virtual Stand.
The Virtual Stand of the Exhibitor remains accessible to Visitors for one (1) year after the Virtual Event for which it has been created. Nevertheless, at the express and written request of the Exhibitor, HOPWINE will be able to close the Virtual Stand before this date and delete data.
After one (1) year, the Virtual Stand will be closed by HOPWINE and the text, photos, and logos sent by the Exhibitor will be archived and stored except in the event of an express request to the contrary from the Exhibitor.
4.2 – Organisation of the Virtual Event
The Virtual Event will be open to Visitors on the dates indicated at the time of the registration of the Exhibitor on the Website.
At the Virtual Event, each Visitor will be able to contact the Exhibitor via the Virtual Stand, exchange messages and, where applicable, receive the Boxes ordered by the Exhibitor and prepared by HOPWINE.
The Exhibitor will select the Selected Visitors to whom it wishes to send Boxes. The Exhibitor will provide HOPWINE with the name and address of each of the Selected Visitors. Only the Selected Visitors that the Exhibitor has confirmed during the Virtual Event were sent Samples will be able to receive a Box from HOPWINE. At the end of the Virtual Event, the Exhibitor will therefore no longer be able to ask HOPWINE to send Boxes to Selected Visitors who have not been confirmed to him.
4.3 – Repackaging of bottles – Shipments of Boxes of samples
To repackage the bottles, HOPWINE will send instructions for the shipping of the bottles to the Exhibitor by mail. HOPWINE will indicate the deadline for receipt of the Bottles so that the Bottles can be repackaged into Samples and Boxes can be sent to Selected Visitors. HOPWINE reserves the right not to repackage or to ship the Boxes if the Bottles are received after the deadline specified to the Exhibitor. The Exhibitor will not be able to claim a refund of registration fees from HOPWINE.
HOPWINE will inspect the Bottles upon receipt. In the event of damage or missing items, HOPWINE will inform the Exhibitor so that it can send a new shipment of Bottles.
HOPWINE will repackage Bottles of the Exhibitor into certified Samples of 2 cl incorporated into a Box. The Exhibitor chooses the number of Boxes and the number of Cuvées in each Box when they register. Boxes can contain from three (3) to twelve (12) Samples. For Exhibitors who only wish to offer one (1) or two (2) bottles, Samples will be sent in envelopes.
Bottles of the Exhibitor are repackaged using a patented technique that preserves the organoleptic properties of wines and spirits for up to three (3) months. HOPWINE can use a 75 cl bottle to prepare 35 2 cl samples.
To prepare the number of Boxes ordered (multiples of 35), N Bottles of each Cuvée will be required. N is equal to the number of Boxes, divided by 35. The Exhibitor will ship N+1 bottles of each Cuvée, at its own expense, to the following address: HOPWINE – Centre d’Affaires Gorge de Loup – 24 Avenue Joannès Masset, 69009 Lyon, France. The N+1st bottle is systematically preserved by HOPWINE to prevent breakages or a “cork taste” (hereinafter referred to as an “Emergency Bottle”).
The Exhibitor recognises that the Bottles sent to HOPWINE constitute a delivery, not a sale of the same. Once the Bottles have been received, HOPWINE will repackage them and prepare labels bearing the logo of the Exhibitor and the legal disclaimers of the Cuvée.
Samples are part of the Boxes and sent by HOPWINE to Selected Visitors. The methods used to ship Boxes are the prerogative of HOPWINE, with the Exhibitor only being informed of the receipt of said Boxes by the Selected Visitors.
Customs duties payable by the Selected Visitor are offered by HOPWINE.
Boxes ordered by the Exhibitor from HOPWINE that have not been shipped to Visitors will be sent to the Exhibitor at its request.
The Emergency Bottle is preserved by HOPWINE, which will be able to dispose of it as it wishes, as expressly recognised by the Exhibitor.
5 – Fees – Method of payment – Invoicing
The registration fee for the Virtual Event is indicated on the Website, and depends on the options chosen by the Exhibitor.
A deposit of €650 (including VAT) must be paid by the Exhibitor at the time they register online on the Website.
The balance is payable to HOPWINE no later than fifteen (15) days after the issue date of the invoice for the balance, by cheque or bank transfer. The invoice for the balance must in any event be paid ten (10) business days before the start of the Virtual Event.
Any Exhibitor who registers for the event less than forty (40) days before the start date of the Virtual Event must pay the registration fee in full at the time of registration.
The cost of any additional orders of Boxes placed by the Exhibitor after registration must be paid in full upon acceptance by HOPWINE, which nevertheless reserves the option not to proceed with the order in view of the technical constraints that this new order could pose.
6 – Termination of the Agreement – Penal clause
If the invoice for the balance is not paid by the Exhibitor within the deadlines referred to in article 5, the Agreement will be terminated by HOPWINE two (2) days after formal notification issued by HOPWINE via any written means (registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt, e-mail) to the Exhibitor if said notification has remained unheeded.
If the Agreement is terminated in accordance with this clause, the Exhibitor must pay HOPWINE, pursuant to a clause in penal law, the full cost of their participation in the Virtual Event. Thus, amounts already paid will remain with HOPWINE, while those still due will be payable with immediate effect.
This clause is also applicable in the event that the Exhibitor cancels their participation at the Virtual Event.
7 – Communication – Publicity – Intellectual property
The Exhibitor is solely responsible for the content of information provided to HOPWINE and which will be posted on the Website, on the Virtual Stand, or during the Virtual Event. The Exhibitor guarantees HOPWINE the lawfulness of information sent, in particular its compliance with current legislation in the designation, offer, and presentation of Cuvées, and, more generally, with the law on alcohol advertising (the Evin Law).
Text, logos, illustrations, photographs, visuals, and brands are disseminated under the sole responsibility of the Exhibitor, which will assume all reproduction rights.
The Exhibitor guarantees HOPWINE against any amicable or legal appeals from third parties.
8 – Liability of HOPWINE
The liability of HOPWINE is limited to direct damages the result of its own fault or negligence in the provision of the Services referred to in article 5, and is strictly limited, where applicable, to the amount of registration fees paid by the Exhibitor.
HOPWINE cannot be held liable for Samples that have a cork taste or smell. This is expressly recognised by the Exhibitor.
The Exhibitor will not be able to hold HOPWINE liable for outcomes associated with the shipment of Boxe of Samples to Selected Visitors such as delays, damaged parcels, etc. In the event of the loss of or damage to a Box, HOPWINE will be able to reimburse the Exhibitor for the cost of the Box lost (up to a maximum value of twenty (20) euros) or ship a new Box, if stock levels allow (where applicable). The Exhibitor will not be able to claim any damages and interest for such losses.
HOPWINE cannot be held liable for any losses or damages resulting from use of the internet, in particular a breakdown or suspension of service, outside intrusion, or the presence of a computer virus.
The Website is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, HOPWINE will not be held liable in the case of events that could pose an obstacle to the continuity of access to the Website and reserves the right to render the Website inaccessible if required, in particular in the case of maintenance or a technical malfunction.
9 – Force majeure
In the event of an instance of force majeure that affects the holding of the Virtual Event, HOPWINE will inform the Exhibitors immediately. HOPWINE will be able to postpone the Virtual Event for up to six (6) months. In such circumstances, no damages or interest will be payable to the Exhibitors. “Force majeure” refers to any situation unforeseen at the time of the conclusion of the General Conditions, in accordance with article 1218 of the French Civil Code.
10 – Intellectual property
The Website, the Virtual Event, and the Virtual Stand, as well as each of the elements that comprise them, in particular graphics, text, images, databases, associated IT development programmes, company names, brands, and logos, are the exclusive property of HOPWINE (hereinafter referred to as “Elements of Intellectual Property of HOPWINE”).
Except for the purposes of information for personal and private use, the reproduction, dissemination, or use of Elements of Intellectual Property of HOPWINE without its express permission, is prohibited.
All data on the Virtual Event or the Virtual Stand, in particular the illustrations and textual data represented, are the subject of industrial and/or intellectual property rights and are, where applicable, the exclusive property of HOPWINE and/or of the Exhibitor that has given HOPWINE limited authority to use them.
11 – Personal data – Confidentiality of customer data
HOPWINE pays particular attention to the management of data collected and processed for the organisation and management of Virtual Events. The Exhibitors acknowledge that the data collected are necessary for the management of the client relationship, order management, and, more broadly, the implementation of these General Conditions.
The General Conditions of Use of the Website and the confidentiality policy of the Website are available on the Website.
All Exhibitors have the right to oppose, access, and amend any of their personal information collected by HOPWINE. They can demand that their information be corrected, added to, clarified, updated, or deleted at any time by contacting HOPWINE:
- By e-mail: contact@hopwine.com
- By post: Hopwine – 48A Rue Louis Verchère, Sevrey (71100)
12 – Governing law and competent jurisdictions
These General Conditions are subject to French law.
In the event of a dispute, the Parties promise to give priority to amicable means to resolve their differences.
Disputes that cannot be resolved thus will be the exclusive competence of the Dijon Commercial Court.