A varietal from the Croatian region of Dalmatia. Said to be the ancestor of Zinfandel, the grape that is found throughout the state of California. Zinfandel was reportedly brought to the United States from the Imperial Austrian Plate Species Collection in the 1800s, after which it was thought to be an indigineous varietal to the U.S. but DNA tests have shown it to be the Crljenak. This varietal is also one of the ancestors of the Italian varietal Primitivo.
Black