The Italian American Veterans Museum took a leap of faith when it decided to stage its first-ever wine festival, and the outcome was nothing short of spectacular. More than 200 wine lovers converged on the Festival Center at Casa Italia on Sept. 18 for Festival del Vino.

The weather was picture perfect and the venue was magically decorated with banners, bunting, grapevines and white garden lattice. More than 50 wines were offered for sampling by five distributors rallied by Binny’s Beverage Depot, hearty Italian fare was served by Onesti Entertainment and Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets mounted an extensive display of winemaking equipment and supplies.