Locally-produced wines are featured once a month

Published in the June 25-July 8, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Staff Report

Photo by Marty Cheek
From left, customer Ed Brown, owner Rosy Bergin and customer Robert Ward at last week’s Amador Distillery Bourbon spirits tasting.

Every day brings something special at Rosy’s at the Beach, but Wednesday evenings are exceptional at the landmark seafood restaurant in the heart of downtown. Proprietors Rosy and Rich Bergin have been innovative in making the mid-week a truly entertaining experience for diners where they can discover new wine and spirits for a quality tasting experience and make new friends in a social environment.

The innovation really started with the monthly wine pairing nights, Rosy explained. “Rich and I went to a couple of wine tastings about 10 years ago and we thought, ‘These wines are great but I think you’re missing out on an opportunity here by not selling the wine. People taste the wine, but then, they’re not going to remember it at the end of the night or the next week.’”

That idea inspired the couple to develop a $45-a-ticket wine tasting event held the second Wednesday of each month in which they invite a notable winery from outside the South Valley region to educate Morgan Hill connoisseurs about exceptionally produced wine. Diners get to enjoy glasses of the vino specially paired with cuisine not usually available on the restaurant’s menu. The first winery to participate was Beringer.

The wine-pairing event lets the guests purchase bottles of the wines at a special price at the end of the evening, Rosy said.

“The wineries really love it because they get exposure to 48 new people,” she said. “And the people love it because they don’t have to remember the wine’s name and drive to BevMo or the winery to purchase a bottle.”

The monthly wine event always sells out, but Rosy keeps a list to call people if she finds out about a cancellation. At this fun social event, guests make new friends as they discover new wines together.

“We just wanted to keep it fresh and keep things going,” Rosy said. “We wanted people to come to the restaurant not just for food but to run into someone they know. It just kind of evolved into that.”

The diners have had memorable experiences. Among them was when they tasted bottles of the 2002 Insignia Cabernet from the Joseph Phelps Vineyards based in St. Helena. Many of the guests purchased bottles of the exceptional wine because they loved it so much, Rosy recalled. The next day, they found out that Wine Spectator magazine had chosen that wine as its No. 1 choice for wine of the year. The price doubled immediately, and many of Rosy’s guests were pleased they got a bargain by buying it the night before.

Rosy’s at the Beach doesn’t ignore the locally-produced wines of the South Valley. One Wednesday each month, the restaurant invites a local winemaker to select a wine that they are exceptionally proud of and do a free tasting for customers coming in that evening for a meal.

Diners can learn directly from the winemaker about the qualities of the bottle of wine that’s being offered that night. And if the customers like what they’ve tasted, they can purchase a glass or a bottle of that featured wine at a special price for that night, Rosy said.

These free wine tastings have been so popular that the Bergins decided to include a spirits tasting at their restaurant one Wednesday a month. Customers coming in from the front entrance can get a free tasting sample of a featured spirit from a boutique distillery for that month. Tastings have included tequila, vodka, gin, rum and whiskey.

“It’s great for the spirit (distillery) person because they’re usually offering a new spirit and they’re trying to introduce it,” Rosy said. “It’s great for Morgan Hill people because they’re discovering something new, and trying it in a cocktail for $5, and if they like it, they can buy a bottle for their home bar for a discounted price.”

Customers come in on Spirits Night to discover new alcohol, Rosy said. “We have customers who like different things — like they’re scotch people and they want to know when the scotch tastings is,” she said. “It’s fun to try out new spirits for them.

Rosy’s at the Beach

Location: 17320 Monterey Road
Contact: (408) 778-0551, or www.rosysatthebeach.com