Born in Russia, Zino Vinnikov studied the violin privately with Professor Abram Shtern in Kiev, and later at the Leningrad Conservatoire with Professors Mikhail Waiman and Benjamin Scher, himself a pupil of the legendary Leopold Auer. While still a student, he won the First Prize at the USSR National Violin Competition and went on to shine at the most prestigious and demanding international competitions. He was one of the prizewinners of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the the Queen Elisabeth Competition, as well as winner of the First Prize and Gold Medal at the George Enescu Competition in Bucharest. Immediately after completing his postgraduate studies, Zino Vinnikov was invited to become a Professor at the Leningrad Conservatoire. In the early years of his career, Zino Vinnikov appeared in solo recitals and concerto performances on stages throughout the former Soviet Union. In 1979 the Soviet authorities permitted him and his family to emigrate to the West. They accepted an invitation to settle in The Netherlands, where Vinnikov is still based.

Today Zino Vinnikov is an acclaimed international artist with broad musical interests and an exceptionally rich repertoire. Audiences and critics worldwide have been moved by his profound interpretations, dazzling technical skill and astonishingly unique sound, which Yehudi Menuhin described as 'coming straight from heaven'. He has performed with orchestras of the calibre of The St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as with numerous chamber orchestras of renown. Conductors he has worked with include Yehudi Menuhin, Kyrill Kondrashin, Evgeny Svetlanov, Yuri Temirkanov, Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Valery Gergiev, Hans Vonk, Aldo Ceccato and Alain Lombard. Zino Vinnikov has appeared in most European countries as well as in those of the Former Soviet Union, the United States, Canada, Latin America, China and Japan.

Equally a keen chamber musician, Zino Vinnikov has performed with musicians such as Mischa Maisky, Boris Pergamenschikow, Natalia Gutman, Elisso Versoladze, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Ronald Brautigam and many others, appearing at numerous festivals including those of Edinburgh, Bahnhof Rolandseck, St Petersburg 'White Nights', Camerino, Santander and Bordeaux.

Committed to the transmission of his art, Zino Vinnikov has held Professorships in Russia, France and The Netherlands, and has conducted masterclasses in the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Finland and France. He currently also teaches a select group of highly talented private students.

Zino Vinnikov plays a magnificent Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin stemming from the master's golden Torino-period, courtesy of an anonymous benefactor.

In addition to numerous television and radio broadcasts, Zino Vinnikov's select discography includes several solo-recordings on the Soviet Melodiya label and a recording of Dvorák's Violin Concerto with the Residentie Orchestra The Hague. His 1995 recording of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, Sérénade mélancolique and Mélodie with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yehudi Menuhin (Tring International) received world-wide acclaim.