It seemed as though the fates were conspiring against us, throwing shutdowns of two major interstate thoroughfares (and even one designated detour route) in some of our paths, but still, the Midwestern Online Wine Irregulars once again convened at the old  Same Place just outside of Toledo, Ohio in late February for a weekend's worth of fine wine, good food and wretched excess. After last year's assault of snow and cold, Mother Nature returned to the form established during the first three years of our pilgrimage to Toledo by blessing us with unseasonably warm weather, setting the stage for what can only be described as a true Harmonic Wine Convergence. Besides most of the usual suspects (Larry and Mary Meehan, Amy McClellen and Jeff Faunce, Pam and Jeff Gilliken, Chris aka "Chairman Moe" and Cathy Gross, Andy and Linda Keillor, with baby Cooper, Tim Thomas, "Ice Cream Man" Bob Graeter, Brad Ballinger, Mark Horvatich, John Blackwood and Chris Shearer), there were also newcomers Mark Svereika and his gal pal, Ha (above), and Bill (he'll always be blil to me) Rosich (right). Sadly, Bill and Norma Paumen, Sam and Jean Leone and Scott Theide were unable to attend, and were sorely missed.  Still, this year's festivities were made even more special by the surprise appearance of Allan Bree aka califusa, Left Coast Correspondent to the Gang of Pour, who abandoned Sonapanoma for a few days to reunite with fellow Gangsters Alan Kerr (and his squeeze Tania), Kim Adams and this taster for some serious fun and frivolity. 

Left: Tania, sleeping Bree, Kerr, Kim, Larry in the 'way back' and geo t.

An attempt was made at assigning mini - wine themes for Friday and Saturday's revelry, but in fact the selections were from all over the place. And, as Saturday evening stretched into the wee hours of the morning, Bob Graeter invited a guest at the inn to dump the Sutter Home in his glass and join us for "some real wine." The gentleman turned out to be Mario Marois, former National Hockey League defenseman, whose presence was a special treat for this old hockey fan. Mr. Marois, now a scout for the Vancouver Canucks, is more than welcome to join us for future Harmonic Wine Convergences.

Once again, "Cousin" Larry Meehan's Tasting Notes are included in this report; not only did Larry taste and record impressions of wines that I never got to, but also had some rather contrasting opinions of some of those we both tried, and isn't that part of the beauty of this magnificent obsession that we all share?