For winegrowers and other wine lovers, St. Martin's Day is a symbolic conclusion of a year-long effort in the vineyards and is about enjoying the fruits of hard work. In addition to celebrating the new wine vintage, St. Martin's Day is characterised by traditional dishes, among which the most typical, in addition to other types of poultry, are roast goose or duck with mlinci (dried flatbread) and stewed red cabbage. St. Martin's Day dishes also include the potica pastry, pogača bread and other sweet delicacies.

  • Infographic with a grape and a vineyard at sunset in the background. The inscription says: 11 November, St. Martin's Day - the festival of new wine. In 2021, Slovenian winegrowers were cultivating 14,874 hectares of vineyards. The total grape harvest weighted around 84,000 tonnes. In Slovenia, 5,672 people celebrate their birthday on St. Martin's Day, among them 178 men named Martin and 176 women named Martina. Source: SURS. Infographic: Irena Kogoj. Source: SURS
  • People in a wine cellar are standing around a bar and toasting with glasses of red wine. Let's toast the new wine vintage. Photo: Iztok Medja, archives EKVisuals d.o.o./www.slovenia.info

St. Martin's Day celebrations are not only held in all Slovenian wine-growing regions, but actually everywhere from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pannonian Plain. It is true, however, that you will experience St. Martin's Day celebrations in the most authentic way if you spend time among the vineyards and winemakers, where the wine actually comes from.