Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

The Mountain Winery amphitheater, site of the Summer Concert Series in years past, sits vacant and unused.

Winery talks abruptly halted

Owner Ravi Kumra no longer interested in selling property

By Sarah Lombardo

The city of Saratoga will not be buying the Mountain Winery, at least not anytime soon.

Talks between the city and the owner of the property, Monte Sereno resident Ravi Kumra, came to an abrupt end last week over the issue of allowing Kumra to build homes on part of the property.

"Suffice it to say that I think both people, the city of Saratoga and Mr. Kumra, could not come to have their needs met," said Bob Cullen, who represents Kumra and Mountain Winery Company Ltd. "There were some issues that came up and I think the issue of home development was one of those issues," he said.

According to Cullen, Kumra wanted to make sure that in a sale of the winery to the city, he would still be allowed to build as many as four homes on part of the property.

"One of the reasons [Kumra] purchased the property was to look into building a home up there. How many homes or who would potentially reside in those homes I don't think was decided, but it certainly wasn't any major development," Cullen said.

During the negotiations, Kumra was not satisfied that the city could decide definitively on that issue, Cullen said. "And the city said basically that they were not sure if they could say yes or no to that. Both parties came to the realization as to the time it would require and it would take to clarify if he could do that. It became fairly complicated," Cullen said.

Saratoga Mayor Paul Jacobs had said the city hoped to purchase the winery to prevent it from being developed. One of the goals, he said, was to sell the lower 75 acres of the winery, already zoned for residential development, and preserve the rest of the land as open park space.

"I'm disappointed that the city won't be acquiring the space and keeping it for public use," Saratoga Vice Mayor Gillian Moran said.

Stan Berliner, an attorney involved in the negotiations for the city, said Kumra's decision to pull out of the talks was a shock.

"There was a counter proposal the city had delivered and had not had a response to," Berliner said. "I called [Kumra's] lawyer and said, 'Can we get together, it's been some time' ... We had anticipated that, in the meeting, we could lessen the gap between our proposal and his, but when we got there, he said he had reconsidered. He said he wanted to explore the idea of developing the area."

Cullen said Kumra will continue to hold small jazz concerts at the winery's restaurant, Chateau La Cresta, instead of reviving the popular Summer Concert Series for the summer of 1997.

"I think the fact that the concert series will not be resurrected is a disappointment," City Manager Harry Peacock said.

The lack of a concert series at the outdoor concert venue under Kumra's ownership was one reason Saratoga city officials began talks to purchase the winery. Since the loss of the series, downtown restaurant owners had complained of drastic drops in summer revenue.

The Summer Concert Series had been a Saratoga tradition for 30 years. Though the concert area itself is relatively small--only 1,750 seats--it is surrounded by beautiful scenery and provides an intimate feeling.

"The place had a fine name within other communities and added a fine reputation to the city of Saratoga," said Bill Cooper, owner of downtown restaurant Bella Saratoga.

Though it was never very profitable, the concert series brought new life to the winery seven years after it had ceased wine production on the premises.

When the property was sold in 1989 to developer Ray Collishaw, he changed the winery's name, removing the name Paul Masson, but he maintained the concert series.

In 1993, Collishaw filed for bankruptcy and Kumra and his associates bought the winery in 1995. Except for a few concerts in the fall of that year, the concert series was ended.

Restaurant owner Cooper said that in the past two summers his records show he lost between $50,000 and $100,000. The purchase of the winery, he hoped, would bring back the summer crowds to downtown. But now he'll have to find another way.

"I think it's sad," Cooper said. "It's a wonderful resource for all Saratoga up there. ... It's a sad loss that it won't be operated as it should be, with the concert series.

"I don't understand why if [Kumra and associates] don't want to do it, they don't lease it to the city or promoters," Cooper said. "I just don't understand why they're not allowing it. It is such a beautiful facility up there and it's just sitting empty."

Cullen said that Kumra is not opposed to the idea of working with the city for a concert series, possibly in the summer of 1998, but that he has no major concert promoter in place for 1997 and it is too late to begin planning now.

"It won't happen for '97 because it takes time for that," Cullen said. "He would be open to doing that in the future, especially since he really has some interest in having public interest [in the winery]."

Moran said she thinks city officials and residents alike would be interested in Kumra bringing back the summer series. "I think the whole community would be very enthusiastic about continuing a concert series or restarting one," she said.

Peacock cautioned that however interested the city may be, it cannot tell Kumra what to do with his winery, located on Santa Clara County land.

"The actual venue is out of the limits of Saratoga," Peacock said.