Exciting Guide to St. Martin Adventures: Savor Wine and Roast Goose Across the Czech Republic
Restaurants and wine shops are gearing up for St. Martin’s Day with various wine tastings, and festivities will also take place in farmers’ markets, public squares, and cellar alleys. Expect bottles and jars to be clinking at the following events.Tips for celebrating St. Martin’s Day from across the Czech Republic
St. Martin’s Day celebrations in Prague
When in Prague, make sure to check out the traditional Czech-Slovak Goose March at the Selský Dvůr restaurant. From November 7 to 24, you can savor the tasty St. Martin’s goose paired with young wines at Hostivař in Prague. The meal will include authentic Slovak homemade lokše, delicious natural juice, white and red cabbage, and several kinds of homemade dumplings. There will also be genuine Grobska goose liver served in rich natural juice!
On Saturday, November 8, enjoy goose and young wines at Prague’s Náplavka in Výton. More than 20 wineries from Czech and Moravia will showcase their young wines. Along with young wines, a staple of St. Martin’s celebrations is the golden roast goose. Attendees will have the option to taste various dishes — including foie gras served with Karlovy Vary dumplings and cabbage, goose kaldoun with dumplings, or goose liver with apples and onions. Don’t forget to try the popular St. Martin’s goose burgers and sandwiches filled with pulled goose meat, as well as exquisite foie gras and other goose specialties. Similarly, excellent wine will be present, with over 20 Moravian and Czech winemakers at the event. There will also be convenient snacks for wine pairings such as cheeses, cured meats, and Mediterranean specialties. You can also indulge in sweet delights like cakes and pancakes. The event will start at 10:00 am and wrap up at 9:00 pm.
Letná Goose 2025 and the St. Martin’s wine basket event is scheduled for November 15, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at the National Museum of Agriculture. Here, you’ll find tastings, sales, and presentations featuring St. Martin’s Day wines and young wines from top Czech and Moravian producers. The museum courtyard will offer you refreshments, and you’ll find lokše, goose kaldoun, pâté, cookies, coffee, or local brews. Dulcimer music will be part of the ambiance, and there will also be activities for kids, such as shredding grapes to make cider!
The best St. Martin’s feast awaits you in Prague!
Wine trip to Moravia
If you’re looking to immerse yourself in wine culture, head to South Moravia! Don’t miss the craft fair, talented jugglers, and incredible sights during the St. Martin’s Mikulov festival, happening from November 7 to 15. Expect dulcimer music in the square, local specialties at the fair, and Castle providing daily tastings of local wines. Additionally, guided tours of the town and open monuments will be available.
If you enjoy tasting wine straight from the winemaker in their cellar, don’t miss the weekend of November 15 and 16 for wine tastings of young and aged wines at the authentic Wine Festival – St. Martin in the Hovoran region. Around twenty open cellars will be available for tastings, and you’ll experience a cultural program along with local specialties. Expect to see St. Martin’s goose, goose pâté with cranberries, grilled skewers with cranberries, and more.
On Saturday, November 15, in the Lednice-Valtice area, experience the traditional St. Martin’s toast for 2025! The festivities will also include goose and wine! In Blansko, St. Martin will make an early appearance, arriving on Sunday, November 9. Many cellars or sheds will be wide open, including those in Velké Pavlovice on Saturday, November 15, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, as well as in Bzenci or Hustopeče (celebrating St. Martin’s wines and geese alongside a craft fair). Enjoy a cozy afternoon of goose and wine at Valtice with dulcimer music. The St. Martin’s Feast & Goose Feast will also take place in the Valtice Underground on November 15.
On Tuesday, November 11, head to Brno for the traditional St. Martin’s feast! Join the toast with young wine at Liberty Square at 11:00 am. It’ll be a similar celebration in Uherské Hradiště on Masaryk Square, where the new wines will be baptized amidst the sound of bells at 11 am, along with St. Martin’s Day wines from Slovácko. St. Martin on a white horse, accompanied by Roman soldiers, will present the new wine with a festive procession. At 11:30 am, a tasting of St. Martin’s wines will follow to dulcimer music. Exactly on St. Martin’s Day, November 11, a special wine tasting will also occur at the Wine Barn in Valtice.
For St. Martin’s Day celebrations with children
Looking for family-friendly St. Martin’s Day celebrations? A children’s program featuring a lantern parade is planned for October 19 at the Diwali Festival of Lights in Prague Zoo. Families can join the lantern procession through the zoo starting at 5 pm. A Welcoming St. Martin celebration will take place on November 8 at the National Stud Farm in Slatiňany at 1:00 pm, with a parade through the castle park to the Church of St. Martin, where the priest will share the story of this saint. Over the weekend, you can also explore Slatiňany Chateau (winter exhibition) from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. In Blansko, they will also host a celebration on Sunday, November 9, offering concerts, a light parade, and a historical costume parade led by St. Martin on a white horse carrying a wine basket. Local restaurants will have special menus, and the castle park will feature a craft fair with live demonstrations, falconry shows, and more.
And finally, we have a recipe for traditional St. Martin’s goose
Ingredients: You will need 1 goose that weighs about 4-5 kg (it’s best to choose one with a bit of fat for nice, luscious breasts), about two teaspoons of salt, depending on the goose’s size, and around one teaspoon of cumin (you can add a bit more if you like).
Instructions: Start by salting the inside and outside of the goose thoroughly. Then sprinkle cumin on the salted goose and place it in a carefully prepared baking dish with the back side facing down (you may baste it lightly). Cover the dish and put it in the oven, setting the temperature to about 110-120 °C. At this temperature, you will roast the goose for approximately 5 hours. Near the end of the cooking time, take off the lid from the baking dish to check the skin’s color and crispness. If you prefer a deeper golden color, you can remove the lid for the last 10 minutes, baste the goose with its fat, then increase the temperature to 180 °C.
Making the lard: If your goose is on its second feather, it will have excellent quality fat in the belly cavity on the sides. Remove this fat and render it separately. Cut the fat into smaller pieces and place them in a saucepan on the stove. The fat should melt without burning. It’s ready when only small bits remain at the bottom of the pan. Be sure to strain the melted fat into a jar and store it in the refrigerator; it’s wonderful for spreading on toast! You can also make a spread from the cracklings by simply mixing them and adding some salt and a bit of garlic.
