ZINFAN-WHERE?

With origins of mystery, Zinfandel has often left industry experts wondering over its roots until now. Geneticist Dr. Carole Meredith used DNA to solve the 125-year old riddle and discovered where California’s mysterious stepchild came from. Origin: Kastela. “It was found, finally in an old, seven-acre vineyard, in the village of Kastela along the Dalmatian Coast,” said Dr. Meredith in an interview with Star. “And there were only nine vines of the Zin in the vineyard, where it’s called Crljenak Kastelanski.” Zinfandel was likely introduced into the United States through Austria around the 1830’s before the downy mildew diseases came to Europe.