the mountain winery

The entertainment is meant for the younger crowd with latest bands. A few of the venues are for the older memories.

I'll just sum up the pros and cons of the experience at The Mountain Winery. First, it is quite remote and isolated from the bustle of Silicon Valley, high up along the Santa Cruz Mountains. Lush redwoods, thriving wine grapes and an Old California rural ambience will entertain you on the steep and twisting road up from the Downtown "Heritage" District of Old Saratoga. This remoteness will be charming to some but a challenge to the rest. Be sure your host has provided good directions and maps. The venue is signed pretty well. Later, the departing ride down the hill can be pretty scary if it is dark, so people take care and have a designated driver, for sure. The wedding party's precise venue overlooked a vast and sparkling panorama of Silicon Valley at dusk. Geographically astute persons could pick out the distant San Fran-Oakland Bay Bridge and the glowing dome of Lick Observatory's telescopes. The winery is certainly authentic with oak barrels, private tasting rooms and vintage decor abounding. The food was fair to good and the reception hall was well-equipped for entertainment and good dancing. Fortunately I was a guest and I have no idea what the host's cost was but I note other reviewers claim it is overpriced. On the downside, it is somewhat of a long and slightly steep hike for many to reach the main winery and reception area from the general parking lot and they need better shuttles, especially for seniors. Handicapped guests would be challenged as rest rooms are not convenient although the owners probably just barely complied with the disability regs. Indeed, rest rooms were tough to find for everyone! There are a lot of steps and few convenient alternative ramps and means for older folks to find their way around. Bottom line: Nice place, daytime or evenings but probably expensive. In any event, it will probably be an unforgettable wedding venue and I recommend it for that purpose, but still, wear comfortable shoes.

the road up/down is tight and curvy but the venue is amazing. there's not a bad seat in the house. the wine is ok.

We have been going to The Mountain Winery for wonderful outdoor summer concerts for years. We appreciate the major renovation and upgrade that was made to the property a few years ago. The ticket and food prices increased enormously, as a result, but for most performers, it has been worthwhile. We had not dined at the reservation only full service Chateau or Brasserie restaurants until last night. We went to see Patti LaBelle with friends and wanted to have an easy dinner before the show, so we bought the $39 pre-fixe 2 course dinner option at The Brasserie. We wanted to enjoy a cocktail before dinner, but weren't sure if the restaurant served cocktails so we asked one of the wine/cocktail vendors in the main plaza if cocktails were available at The Brasserie. They told us no, so we ordered 3 martinis and a glass of red wine from them. They claimed to make "the best martinis in the world", so we were excited to try one of theirs. We ordered 2 martinis without vermouth, one with. We got 2 with vermouth and one without. We pointed this out, and the bartender made another one without...but he charged us for it! They had no olives. They barely shook the martinis, so they were not very cold. Anyhow, we took our drinks down to The Brasserie only to discover they have a full bar, olives and martini glasses. We ordered a round of drinks, which were a thousand times better in a real martini glass, with olives and cold. I was irked about being lied to by the guys who sold us the first round so went back up to let them know. I hung out til they located their manager and was able to get a refund of the extra drink were were charged for, but not much of an apology was forthcoming. Back to diner at Te Brasserie. The food was good, but the service was awful. Super slow service, 3 different people waiting on us and still the drinks came slowly, the food came slowly and we were overcharged there, as well, and had to spend time sorting that mess out with a manager. Sounds like a lot of whining? It just put a damper on things to have to be double checking the accuracy of our bills at the bar and the restaurant and chasing down servers to get what we ordered and then having our bills adjusted. We chose the restaurant venue so we could have a leisurely relaxed time with our friends before the show. Service should be good anywhere you go, but at a place that has been upgraded, and charges a premium, to serve a more upscale crowd, the wait staff and managers need better training. Would not go to either restaurant again in the future. It's not worth it. Patti was awesome, however!

Was taken aback by the $20 parking fee, but the experience is worth it. Set amongst the old Paul Masson winery, this is a gorgeous setting for a concert. The full moon didn't hurt, either! Want to go back again!

Absolutely loved our experience at Mountain Winery. Attended a Heart concert. Had dinner before the concert. View was breath taking and the food delicious.

Four people, four orders of rack of lamb. Very tasty. Accompanied by a very nice bottle of Syrah. Service was perfect. We all tried a different dessert. At the end of our meal, we attended a Buddy Guy/Peter Frampton concert, with special guest Randy Bachman. You couldn't find a better place for a concert, open air, old winery building facade for a stage backdrop, everyone is close enough to get an excellent view of the entertainers, basically perfect. If we get the chance, we'll return for another concert or two.

My family and I attended an outdoor concert at this venue last night. Beautiful facility, great views, and the concert was enjoyable. We made a weekend holiday out of this trip. We stayed in the historical downtown area of Saratoga, strolled the shops, had a nice lunch. We will definitely return for another holiday visit and another concert. I would like this review to be helpful so I will say that what I read about the venue were true, parking is complicated by the fact that the lots slope due to the hillside. The food is priced for this type of venue, no different than attending a professional sporting event or theme park. Since we were prepared for this it was not a surprise so we were not upset, the key is to know this information ahead of time and be able to plan accordingly. The most important thing is to have a wonderful time and remember that's why you are there, have a great time. Enjoy!

We bought a dinner package with a concert by the Fab Four (Beatles tribute band). We ate in the Brasserie, which is one of the cheaper options. I had the Chicken and Scampi main course and it was one of the most delicious meals I've ever had. The flavors were wonderful and the portion size was perfect. We got there right before opening at 5:30pm and were served our meal quite quickly. The concert started after 7:30 pm so we had a bit of time to enjoy the views before taking our seats. We thought our seats would be really good as we were in the front row of section 11. However people were constantly arriving late for the performance and wandering around in front of us during the show so I would choose seats a bit higher up next time to avoid being bothered by these annoying people. The Fab Four are a very entertaining band and you can't really go wrong with Beatles music! Their Liverpool accents were very authentic.

Came here for a wine tasting and I have to say that this place was awesome! It took a good 20 minutes with traffic to get up the mountain. The views from the vineyard are absolutely breathtaking. They have a great selection of Wines. Be sure not to miss Jesse, aka "the mayor." He was very friendly and entertaining. Don't miss this place on your vineyard tour of the area.

the venue is beautiful. Beware when purchasing tickets. Only purchasing from AXS. I thought I was purchasing from the winery website and after purchasing my tickets, they came from sales@selectaticket and ended up being twice as much as the original face value of the ticket and they also do not send you the seats you picked out. There was a line of at least 20 people with the same complaint at the box office. And of course, you can't get through to the ticket company. So be very aware of the ticket company because although you think you're purchasing from the winery website, I was told there are a few sites that lead you to believe its the actual site. Or better yet if possible go to the winery to purchase your tickets.

I quit my job recently and my husband wanted to make me feel better so he planned a night out at the Mountain Winery with a comedian he had heard on the radio (KPIG 5 o'clock funnies). He bought tickets for the show online, and couldn't keep it a surprise: He showed me the restaurant choices so we picked the 2nd less fancy restaurant with a 35.00 fee for each person for a two course dinner. We paid in advance for the dinners. He got directions online and we were all set.The timing was perfect to get there: but we were unprepared for the $20.00 parking fee (cash only). There is an ATM there with a fee, but they do not let you in until exactly at 5:30. We got our table at the fanciest restaurant because the one we signed up for was closed. The view was incredible over the San Jose valley. The food was awesome and the service outstanding. We got upgraded so we ended up getting the 3 course dinner for the price of the 2 course meal!There was an opening act comedian and then Brian Regan came out. The laughter did us good! He is very clean and funny! We sat on wooden benches behind the sound person and had a great view, but the benches will give you splinters if you're not careful. It would help to take a blanket or pillow to sit on for the wooden benches. The section in front of the sound had comfy looking chairs, but they are down lower. Besides looking at the stone stage you see the grape vines growing on the hillside, trees, and the air smelled so good-like jasmine. It was refreshing to be outdoors in the evening.It is an adventure getting there, but worth it! The traffic going out was crazy because the show was pretty packed and all those cars have to go back down the mountain at the same time. But you just have to be patient; by the time we got into Saratoga all the traffic was dispersed. There is roadwork being done with a one-way traffic light between the town of Saratoga and the winery. It is a 5 minute wait so it feels like forever. But again: Just be patient and you'll get through it!!!

This is an extremely unique & intimate venue, one that I am glad I've had the opportunity to experience. The theater is carved into the side of a mountain at just over 1300 ft. The architecture is beautiful and elegant. It doesn't appear to have a bad seat in the house, though we sat right up front, so I'm not 100% sure, which is why I should stress APPEAR. It doesn't appear to have a bad seat. The seats are relatively comfortable though I'll say by the end of the show, I was ready to stand. There are plenty of dining options on the winery property where you can reserve a table ahead of time and have a great dinner with a glorious view. If making set plans before a show makes you nervous or feel rushed, you can also enjoy some choice entrees at a vendor tent. They will ring you up, give you a pager and it will buzz when your food has been delivered to the tent from the kitchen. Then you can grab an open table, or sit at one with another group or couple,as we did. They also serve beer, wine and alcohol. Their wine prices were very high (in my opinion) $12-15 for a very small plastic cup. Didn't stop us from ordered any though. We tried the Reisling and the Savignon Blanc. I preferred the SB as the Reisling was very sweet, (still good) similar to a Moscato. The bathrooms are nice, large bad clean. They also have large picture windows in them which overlook the valley. The only drawback is they are located on the lower level, down a couple flights of the stairs. Parking is very expensive $20 and they only accept cash. Overall though, I say it's worth the experience. We'd like to go again for just wine tasting. They offer tastings on days when they do not have a concert/performance scheduled.

Love, love, love this venue for a concert! Big enough to attract big name performers, but small enough to have every seat = good seat! Dining options run the gamut from white tablecloth gourmet prix fixe to grab-a-sandwich. Fabulous views and good wine!

Super expensive in my opinion but worth it. Great sound quality and visability. Avoid traffic and take the shuttle, available in Saratoga or Los Gatos