Lenny Procacci is the last of the great South Philly wine grape sellers

After a lifetime in the homemade winemaking business, Lenny Procacci knows this much to be true: Quality is born out of consistency. So it stands to reason that Procacci, 80, who favors a fedora and stands as the last of the great South Philly grape sellers, prefers a life of routine.

Even in this late season of his life, each morning from Labor Day through early October — the height of the grape-harvesting season — Procacci arrives at his family’s South Philadelphia warehouse, and does what Procacci men have done for generations: hawk grapes.

“These people don’t want to talk to anyone else,” he said on a recent rainy afternoon, catering to crowds of customers, his voice a blend of pride and exhaustion. “They want to talk to me only.”

After all, it is Lenny Procacci who greets each returning customer, family, wine club member, and wholesaler, some of whom have been coming for generations themselves. He ensures the complimentary spread of soppressata and cheese and cups of homemade red sit atop the table. He keeps track of just who gets what grapes — the Alicante or Barolo, the pinot or zinfandel, the Syrah or Sangiovese, or any of the more than 25 varieties of California wine grapes and wine juices Procacci Brothers sells on its seasonal menu.

Procacci Brothers didn’t always corner the Philly wine grape market. At one time, there were a handful of smaller vendors set up in the Italian Market, plus some larger wine grape wholesalers down by the docks. But Procacci Brothers, founded by Lenny Procacci’s cousins, Joseph and Michael, as part of one of the largest produce distributors in North America — the wine grape business is just a slice of the family business — has outlasted them all.

For 10 weeks each year, Lenny Procacci kisses his wife, Peggy, goodbye and comes out of retirement to run the busy South Philly grape-selling operation, located near the Delaware Avenue docks and just blocks from the stadiums. From there, he and his crew sell about 25,000 cases of California wine grapes to 4,000 regular customers.

“He’s the guy you look for when you walk through the door,” said Sam Moreno, 71, of Conshohocken, who has been coming to Lenny Procacci for his grapes for 35 years.

Growing up in Camden, Procacci started out in the wine business when he was just 16, working with his father, Cataldo, selling grapes that arrived on freight trains rumbling down Delaware Avenue.

“People would buy right off the railcars, then we would go right over the bridge and take care of the people in Camden,” he said.

Back then, when he was just out of high school and a case of grapes cost $2 (as opposed to anywhere between $42 and $59 today), Procacci wasn’t sold on a life in the wine grape business.

“I didn’t like it at all,” he said. “Because I had to work at 5 o’clock in the morning and get done around 8 o’clock at night and all my friends were out partying,” he said. “I hated the wine grape season back then.”

Procacci, who took over the Lawrence Street warehouse operation about 40 years ago, says he learned to love the wine grape season for one reason above all: the people.

“I see these people once a year, but I’ve been seeing them for 35 or 40 years,” he said. “We all aged together.”

For Procacci and many of his customers, homemade winemaking is a family tradition dating back to when their descendants first arrived from Italy in the early part of the last century.

“Everybody made their wine,” said Procacci. “They come from Italy and they took their wine press on the boat to Ellis Island. They took everything they needed to make the wine.”

For his part, Cataldo Procacci fermented 10 to 15 barrels of wine in the family cellar each year, with Grandma Procacci selling gallons of the stuff for $1 to neighbors. Now Procacci passes off his winemaking tips to those who flock to buy his grapes.

Bursting with old and new school winemaking supplies, from manual and electric crushers to oak barrels and stainless-steel tanks of all sizes — and towering walk-in fridges piled high with crates of California grapes — the Lawrence Street warehouse is a one-stop shop for winemakers. Grape season arrives with a celebratory feel, customers said.

“Today we’ll crush and all come in the morning and just make a day out of it,” said Fred Daddario, 77, of Avondale, who arrived with his wife, two daughters, sons-in-law, best friend, and grandchildren, and left with 12 cases of barbera grapes. “It’s getting together with family — that’s the best part.”

After all these years, Lenny Procacci has begun to feel like family, too, the customers said.

“These people, they’re happy when they come in here,” said the old grape seller, with a smile.