For generations, New Englanders have made a weekly pilgrimage to Cape Cod for their weekends.  It’s not unlike heading to the coast from the Texas Hill Country or to the lake in Missouri.  Friday comes and the natural progression in the summertime is to hit the road for the coast.  We felt like it was our duty today to join in the pilgrimage.  Driving past Plymouth and Hyannis, we preferred to stop and enjoy the beaches in Dennis and Provincetown. . .what’s amazing about Cape Cod is that there are literally hundreds of beautiful beaches along the Atlantic Ocean side, the Nantucket Sound side and others.

We stopped at Dennis for a couple of hours of sun time and were caught off guard by the cool breezes even in the hot sun.  Compared to where we’re from, the sand wasn’t hot even though the sun was!  Another feature about this part of the world is the number of light houses.  Without getting too much into history, many ships went down off the New England coast back in the late 1600’s, and 1700’s because there was not a way to warn the ships how close they were to the shore.  Ships that got too close to the shoreline almost always met their fate with the rocks.

One of the lighthouses that we stopped at was adjacent to a golf course, and although we got there after the pro-shop had closed–and the Ranger station was closed as well, we made the walk up to shoot some awesome pictures.  This particular lighthouse was attached to a home. . .yes, a regular home and as we approached the lighthouse, the homeowner/parks person came out into her yard and let her two boxer dogs out. . .funny how quickly daughter #2 came walking down the trail to see her newest friends!!

Anyway. . .tonight we opened a really nice bottle of zin. . .one of our favorites…a 2009 Steele Zinfandel from the Pacini Family.  The Pacini Family planted its’ vineyard in 1940 on the western foothills of the Mayacamas Mountainsin Mendocino County.  This old vineyard is head-pruned as are most Zinfandel vineyards of the era.  Steele Wines purchased the vineyard in 1996 from the Pacini Family.  Since then they have been refurbishing the vineyard and replacing vines in the positions where the old vines have died back.  The location of the vineyard prevents them from irrigating or frost protecting due to the limited water supply.  This provides for the intense flavors and aromas in this low yielding Zinfandel. As zin lovers, anytime we come across a label that has really full body and spice, we love to talk about it.  This Steele Zin fits the bill to a T–we can’t believe how tasty it is!  Lots of fruit. . .raspberries, blackberries and blueberries combined with the spiciness of pepper and mesquite!  At less than $20 a bottle, it’s priced right for the money.

We could go on raving about the wine. . .a good zin is always tough to beat!  We had a great day driving in this beautiful part of the world and along the way discovered how much we enjoy being with our girls.  It’s too bad that most of us wait until they are adults and gone before we appreciate how different, unique and amazing they are to be around.

We hope that you’ll be around to enjoy your favorite wine responsibly and remember to recycle whenever possible.