Amenti del Vino ...

 was started in Connecticut in 1971 by Eugene "Gene" Spaziani.  The purpose of the organization was to gather friends and family who enjoyed consuming, making and learning about wine.   In the 1980's Amenti del Vino started conducting competitions for amateur winemakers.  Wine were judged blind and on their own merit, which prohibited any personal bias.  The competitions offered home winemakers the opportunity for feedback as to how to improve the quality of their wines and to receive medals and accolades (aka bragging rights among fellow winemakers) for their best wines.   

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The Amenti del Vino International Wine Competition was started in 1993 as an outlet for commercial wineries to receive professional feedback on their wines from experts and to receive medals for their best wines.  2018 marks the 25th year of this competition under Gene's leadership.

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Over the past twenty years, Amenti del Vino has conducted or facilitated a variety of amateur and commercial wine competitions of various sizes including The Pennsylvania Winery Association Annual Wine Competition, WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition, The Big E Competition, Ohio Commercial Wine Competition, and The Colorado Wine Competition. 

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Today, Amenti del Vino is the Eastern Connecticut Chapter of The American Wine Society.  Members include amateur winemakers, wine educators, certified  judges and wine enthusiasts  who share their friendship and passion for wine through educational programs and tastings.