Kaštela, the homeland of Zinfandel, will this autumn also become the meeting place of Europe’s Zinfandels. The sixth Zinfest – Festival of Crljenak and Its Relatives will be held on 11 and 12 November at the Spinnaker restaurant and hall at Marina Kaštela. For the first time, the festival is also expanding to Split: on 13 November, Akademis will host ZinEx – Zinfandel Exclusive, the first tasting of all European Zinfandel wines, modelled on the famous American ZinEx.
This year’s edition brings together around a hundred participants, including more than 30 Croatian winemakers who produce Crljenak. Visitors will be able to taste more than 50 different Zinfandels – alongside Croatian Crljenak and Californian Zinfandel, there will also be Italian Primitivo and Macedonian Kratošija. Admission to Zinfest at the Spinnaker restaurant at Marina Kaštela is free, opening hours are from 1 pm to 7 pm, and the festival programme is set out below.
Zinfest keeps its format: two days at Marina Kaštela, with a wine and gastronomy stage, signature gastronomic creations, which this year are in the hands of traditional folk cooks, and a presentation of students and teachers from hospitality schools. New this year is the “Zinfandel California” masterclass with a tasting of Californian Zinfandels, alongside B2B meetings with distributors and a chefs’ stage, and there will also be the final of the Dalmatian marenda competition, in which the winners of all previous editions compete for the title. ZinEx in Split will also host the ZinEx Meetings, a panel discussion on “Wine and Women”.
By expanding the event with ZinEx, the aim is to strengthen the story of Croatia as the homeland of Zinfandel and the recognition of our local heritage, which is at the same time a global brand, and which today is made in Croatia by winemakers from Pelješac to Istria, joined this year by Krauthaker.
Crljenak is also a tourist postcard of Dalmatia, because the story of Crljenak took a long time and had to fight its way into the light of day, and today Crljenak has finally taken its rightful place. At all our presentations, at home and abroad, Zinfandel is one of the most important topics. It is a global story of hard work and longing for the homeland. That obliges us to build our future on it and never to forget to be proud. Research more than 20 years ago established that the origins of American Zinfandel lie in Kaštela, and that discovery brought an enormous leap forward for Kaštela, Dalmatia and the whole of Croatia.
Once again this year, Zinfest has a charitable note, with the opportunity to donate to the St Jerome Association (Udruga sv. Jeronim) from Kaštel Gomilica, which, in addition to caring for the homeless, runs projects and workshops for the elderly and for children. All visitors who donate a symbolic amount to the association will receive a voucher for the food prepared during the event.
Programme of events
ZINFEST, 11 November 2026 (Wednesday), Marina Kaštela, Kaštela
- 1 pm Official opening ceremony (addresses by the organisers and representatives of institutions)
- 1.20 pm Statements for the media
- 1.30 pm Guests’ tour of the exhibitors’ stands
- 2 pm Judging of the dishes prepared for the Dalmatian marenda
- 3 pm to 7 pm The Story of Wine, wine stage
- 2 pm to 7 pm Presentation of hospitality school teachers and students, counter 1
- 2 pm to 7 pm Signature gastronomic creations, counter 2
ZINFEST, 12 November 2026 (Thursday), Marina Kaštela, Kaštela
- 1 pm Masterclass: Zinfandel California
- 1 pm to 3 pm Agmar d.o.o. agency (B2B meetings)
- 2 pm to 4 pm B2B with Vivat Dobra Vina (distributor)
- 3 pm to 7 pm The Story of Wine, wine stage
- 2 pm to 7 pm Presentation of hospitality school teachers and students, counter 1
- 2 pm to 7 pm Signature gastronomic creations, counter 2
- 4 pm to 7 pm Chefs’ stage
ZINEX, 13 November 2026 (Friday), Akademis, Split
- 11.30 am Address by the organisers and statements for the media
- 12 noon ZinEx Meetings: Wine and Women
- 2 pm to 8 pm Tasting of European Zinfandels
