Martinje, St Martin's Day 2026
Young wine day: on 11 November the must is symbolically baptised into wine, and the wine regions from Istria to Slavonia celebrate with goose, mlinci and chestnuts.
Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
About this event
Young wine day: on 11 November the must is symbolically baptised into wine, and the wine regions from Istria to Slavonia celebrate with goose, mlinci and chestnuts.
Martinje on 11 November: the day must becomes wine- Date
- November 11, 2026
The day the must becomes wine
On 11 November, Saint Martin's day, Croatian wine regions perform a baptism: the must, treated all evening as an unruly child, is formally christened and becomes wine. Someone plays the bishop, there is a mock sermon, and everyone present is in on the joke. It happens from Istria to Slavonia, in cellars, restaurants and village halls, and the food is goose with mlinci and roast chestnuts.
Where to be that evening
Zagorje and Međimurje north of Zagreb, the Plešivica hills west of it, Ilok and Kutjevo in Slavonia, the Istrian interior: any of them will have something on, and the smaller the place the more likely you end up at a table with people you did not arrive with. Book a cellar in advance and do not plan to drive.
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