The sixth ZINFEST – Festival "Crljenak and relatives" will be held on 11 and 12 November at Marina Kaštela, and this year it is expanding to Split for the first time. There, ZinEx – Zinfandel Exclusive, the first tasting of all European wines made from Zinfandel grapes modelled on the American ZinEX, will be held at Akademisa on 13 November.
This year's edition brings together around 100 participants, including more than 30 Croatian winemakers who produce Crljenak. Visitors will be able to taste more than 50 different Zinfandels, and alongside Croatian Crljenak and Californian Zinfandel, there are also Italian Primitivo and Macedonian Kratošija. Entry to Zinfest at the "Spinnaker" restaurant in Marina Kaštela is free.
The festival programme was presented at a press conference in Marina Kaštela. Guests were welcomed on behalf of the host by chef Petar Božić of the "Spinnaker" restaurant, on behalf of Marina Kaštela, its director Ivona Smoljić and captain Josip Berket. Zinfest retains its format: two days in Marina Kaštela, with a wine and gastronomy stage, Gastronomic Creations with a signature, which this year belong to folk cooks, and a presentation by students and teachers of hospitality schools.
A novelty is the "Zinfandel California" masterclass with a tasting of Californian Zinfandels, along with B2B meetings with distributors and a cooking stage. The finale of the Dalmatian Marena will also be held, in which the winners of all previous editions compete for the title. At ZinEx in Split, ZinEx meetings and a panel discussion "Wine and Women" will take place.
Srećko Radnić, president of the Zora cluster and organiser of the event, highlighted that Zinfandel has become a "must have" beyond Kaštela, and is now made by winemakers from Pelješac to Istria. This year, Krauthaker is also joining the winemakers. Ivana Vladović, director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board and initiator of the Dalmatian Marena story, announced that the Tourist Board is launching a story about Dalmatian wines and oils alongside the Marena. Nada Maršić, director of the Kaštela City Tourist Board, also participated in the programme presentation.
It is worth remembering that more than 20 years ago, it was established that the origin of American Zinfandel lies in Kaštela. Josip Matas, speaking on behalf of the Split-Dalmatia County, emphasised that the county supports winemakers and small farms (OPGs) in planting new vineyards and building wine cellars. Antonia Kljaić, head of social affairs of the City of Kaštela, was also present. Ana Damjanov represents the folk cooks and the Anina Kužina brand and announced dishes designed in pairing with Zinfandel and Crljenak, using wine in the food preparation itself. Ivan Perišin spoke on behalf of the Kaštelanski Crljenak association.
After the presentation, attendees visited the newly opened Putalj winery in Kaštela, where they tasted Crljenak wines with Dalmatian Marena.
