Published in the Jan. 8, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
With bottles between $3 and $200, Rocca’s has a wine for all budgets
By Staff Report
Talk to Dan Rocca and you’ll quickly find he knows his wine. His passion for selecting the best bottles of vino to stock on the shelves of Rocca’s Market has made the San Martin corner grocery store a favorite place for many South Valley residents to find the perfect wine for gifts or dinner.
Rocca (pronounced as ROCK-ah) admits his market didn’t always have its reputation for selling first-class wine to its customers.
“About 20 years ago, one of my liquor salesmen said ‘You’ve got to get a better selection of wines here.’ I was 30 years old maybe. Mostly we brought in grocery store wine. It use to be, we didn’t have very good wine. But now, I’ve learned how to taste wine. I don’t look like a wine snob, but I now have a wine appreciation.”
Photo by Marty Cheek
Brothers and co-owners Tom and Dan Rocca stand in front of the market’s wide selection of local wines.
Sparked by the criticism from the salesman, Rocca, who owns the store with his brother Tom Rocca, decided to take the time to learn what makes an excellent bottle of wine. He recalls two decades ago attending his first wine-education class at Napa Valley’s Beringer Vineyards in St. Helena where 100 glasses were lined up for him to taste. He soon developed his palate to appreciate the subtle components of flavor that create a delightful experience for wine aficionados. Now Rocca goes to Napa Valley regularly to taste wine and continue his education.
Rocca’s Market was started in 1927 by Giulio Rocca, an immigrant from Cocconato, Italy. The family-run store has grown into an institution for San Martin. It’s known not only for its large fine wine selection but also for its high quality cuts of meat as well as fresh seafood. Rocca remembers starting to work at the store when he was about six years old, sorting the Coke, Pepsi and other deposit glass soda bottles for a nickel a day. He began working full time at the store when he was 12.
Over the decades, he has seen a lot of changes in the South Valley region’s wine industry, which he says now compares favorably with the more famous Napa Valley region for the quality of its wines.
“We used to be known for jug wines in this area,” Rocca said. “Everyone made a house red in a jug because that’s what Italians drank. But now they’ve gotten to the point where they know how to make good wines. There are some wineries here that can compete with the Napa guys and out-do them, and Napa’s mad because, well, they’re Napa. They charge $100 for a bottle where here it’s $25. It’s like, who are these little guys from the Morgan Hill area?” he said with a laugh.
With a range of bottles between $3 and $200, Rocca’s Market has a wine to fit everyone’s budget. It specializes in stocking wine from 30 wineries in the South Valley region. Rocca said he wants his store to be a complete one-stop-shop for local wines for its customers by adding a couple more South Valley wineries he doesn’t yet carry. The grocery store also sells wine from high-end San Benito County wineries Leal, De Rose, Calero, and Santa Pietra. Although wine is its niche, Rocca’s Market also sells high-end spirits including scotch, bourbon and tequila.
Many of Rocca’s customers appreciate the time the grocery store owner takes to get to know their unique wine tastes. And he’s always interested in answering questions about the wine he has in stock and educating customers to be better wine consumers.
“Wine is where it’s at here,” he said. “Just come in. I like talking to people about wine. The register is right here (next to the wine shelves), so I can step over and ask, ‘Would you like some help?’ And if they say yes, I’ll help them. And if they say no, I’ll say, ‘OK.’”
