St Martin's Day - MARTINOVO
St. Martin's Day is a holiday, particularly dear to us - Slovenians. It is our one of the most popular and merry time. It was even proposed to make it a public holiday
Slovenia has a long tradition as a wine-producing country. The most beautiful parts of Slovenia are three wine-producing areas: Primorska, Posavje and Podravje with their 14 wine districts. In Slovenia's second largest city Maribor, grows even the world's oldest wine.
Every year, on November 11, according to tradition, unfermented grape juice turns into wine. How so? By legend St Martin performed the same feat as Jesus Christ by transforming water into wine. Being able to do that, made him the patron saint of the celebrations of the fermenting of wine.
St Martin of Tours was born in today’s Hungary and was a soldier (by his father's will) who served the Roman army. After some unhappy time and some fulfilling events (like sharing his coat with a homeless man), he decided to become a monk. He ran a very modest life. The legend says, he did not want to accept the role of a bishop. He went away into a village and hid into a barn. Geese with their loud noise betrayed him and eventually became a bishop. Nowadays, this story gives us a good reason to make a very tasty meal: roasted goose or a duck spiced up with steamed red cabbage with chestnuts and mlinci-Slovenian pasta.
The holiday in November is a great to taste new vintages. It is perfect time to invite you to take a stroll along the numerous city wine routes. If you do not catch with St Martin's festival, we invite you to join us on our Ljubljana Food Tour. In the time spent together we are going to have a chance to taste Slovenian wines from all three wine regions and foods that make our culture similar and yet a bit different from our neighbors.
Next to that, in the week of St Martins festival, several different cultural events and parties are held. To spend time in Ljubljana and Slovenia in those days of the year gives us locals another chance to invite you on our guided city walking tours , or on a half day tour to one of our wine growing parts around the city or, if you have more time, on / a full day off the beaten track discoveries?