St. Martin’s Feast is celebrated on November 11th, the feast day of St. Martin, which traditionally marks the end of the autumn months and the wine harvest, heralding the arrival of winter. To add to the joy, a golden-brown goose is roasted, stuffed with apples, and served with red cabbage and dumplings, or sometimes with potato lokše (thin flatbreads).
This marks the close of the current year as we slowly prepare for the upcoming Christmas season. An essential part of St. Martin’s Feast is the roasted St. Martin’s goose, pastries, and St. Martin’s wine, which plays a very important role. St. Martin’s Day is also a celebration for winemakers, as the harvest ends and the process of maturing the first wine of the year is completed. According to tradition, on November 11th at 11 o’clock, the first young wine of the year, which has been maturing for only a few weeks, is opened. St. Martin’s wine can be white, rosé, or red.
In France, the celebration of new wine is represented by the red Gamay variety, Beaujolais Nouveau, which has become popular worldwide and is first opened every year on the third Thursday of November.