Mountain Winery Opens With Diverse Lineup, New Food Caterer

SARATOGA, CA — With a pairing as fine as keynote harmony and a beat syncopation, The Mountain Winery kicks off another summer season Saturday with a lineup as well as food and beverage offerings to serve every taste in the Silicon Valley and beyond.

The shows staged by Los Angeles-based concert producer AEG Presents will run from May 25 through Oct. 11 including legendary performers and top-notch talent across many genres in music and comedy.

Appropriately enough, UB 40 will launch the season with its unique rendition of "Red, Red Wine." Further into the season, shining star Earth, Wind & Fire is back to groove with Evelyn "Champagne" King, a shame to miss for dance music enthusiasts wanting to get off their feet.

Rhythm and blues fans won't be too proud to beg for more from the legendary Temptations and Four Tops. Lyle Lovett, with his sultry "She's No Lady," will transport concert goers to an intimate nightclub setting, while the Beach Boys will send them to Doheny Beach in Orange County and two nights of "El Gran Festival de Musica Cubana" features former members of the Buena Vista Social Club for that Latin influence.

Comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short are sure to take the crowd back to old "Saturday Night Live" days.

There's a range of performers set to take the Saratoga stage from Oakland rapper MC Hammer and singer-guitarist husband and wife duo Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo to the San Francisco Bay Area's own slow crooner Chris Isaak and spiritually lifting reggae performer Michael Franti with Spearhead, who will show how "life is better" at Mountain Winery this summer.

"This is the most diverse lineup we've ever had," Mountain Winery spokeswoman Marie Camaya told Patch.

The 2,500 seat entertainment venue, with its breathtaking view in the west hills of the South Bay, fulfilled 60 years during its last season and has shown no sign of looking back except in a nod of honoring its long history that welcomes 150,000 guests annually and puts on 250 events a year. With its working vineyard that graced the hills in 1887 through the efforts of Paul Masson, the winery is a key connection to the Santa Cruz Mountains.

"I think the Silicon Valley area is a crowded entertainment area, but we're fortunate to have such a unique venue," Camaya said.

The California Historical Landmark designated in 1960 has hosted the likes of a saxophone great Miles Davis, a scatting Ella Fitzgerald and another legendary singer Etta James, who belted out "At Last" to some of the most notable entertainment venues in the world including Greenwich Village's famous Blue Note.

In case music aficionados are "Hungry Like a Wolf" for the best of the 80s that will remind them of Roxy-style tunes, the Mountain Winery added Duran Duran to the lineup in September.

Hunger pangs for more than music?

The Mountain Winery also inked a deal this year for Global Gourmet Catering to provide exclusive catering and food and beverage concessionaire services for all events at the Mountain Winery, including its annual summer concert series and robust private and corporate events business for all types of foodies and wannabes.

“We are very excited to form this new partnership with one of the leading catering companies in the Bay Area,” Mountain Winery General Manager Amy Lewis said.

The partnership is ideal for a region known for the finer things in life.

“We are tremendously excited to be chosen as the food and beverage services provider for The
Mountain Winery,” said Laura Lyons, chief executive officer of Global Gourmet Catering. “We love the Mountain Winery, not only as an intimate concert venue in the hills of Saratoga, but also as an idyllic setting for corporate events, private parties and unforgettable weddings."

Lyons insisted her catering company is honored to enhance the one-of-a-kind concert experience at the Mountain Winery, which will also hand over the role of managing the wine program to the catering company.

The Wine Club and the vineyard’s weekly wine tasting program is open to the public every Thursday through Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m.

The Global Gourmet Catering culinary team will also develop the specialty dining offerings provided in the Mountain Winery’s premium tickets and suite services program during the concert season. Dining packages such as Ultimate Night Out and Winery Gold Package will include a pre-show dinner prepared on property at one of the Mountain Winery’s concert dining restaurants. Private events featuring the culinary expertise and elevated service of Global Gourmet Catering may be booked through the Mountain Winery sales office at 408-484-3509, while other premium dinner packages during the concert season may be arranged at 408-741-2817.

The full 2019 Season schedule may be found here.