THE fermented juice of this season’s grapes officially became wine last weekend, and Slovenia marked the occasion with the traditional Martinovanje (St. Martin’s Day) feast, wine tasting, and general merry-making (all before going off to vote on Sunday).
In the town of Ormož, in eastern Slovenia, residents celebrated at a four-day fair on the grounds of the 13th-century Ormož Castle.
Under a big white tent on the castle grounds on Saturday, a “bishop” and his friends had fun baptizing the must (new wine), and then, of course, tasting it.
In another tent, local wineries like Jeruzalem Ormož, one of the fair’s sponsors, offered samples. Visitors could also try honey mead, fruit brandies, pumpkin seeds, and more. It was hard to save room for the feast.
The feast itself, found in local homes and at restaurants like Gostilna Prošnik, features roasted goose, sweet red cabbage, and mlinci, a baked noodle dish. Monika Ivanuša, a local tour guide, said she’d be preparing her family’s spread the next morning, using a goose that family friends gave her as thanks for help picking grapes.
Inside the castle were handicraft exhibitions (including a demonstration of how to weave bottle-shaped baskets in which newly christened vino can wait its turn) as well as folk musicians:
Down the hall, Miroslav Kosi (in grey suit at right) poured for visitors a blend of white wines from several wineries in the region. “Taste it all at one time,” he advised.
For those who preferred to experience their wines one by one, wineries sprinkled throughout the area offered tastings.
In the cellar of the small but impressive Čurin-Prapotnik winery, vintner Stanko Čurin (seen at left) stood among the oak barrels as he poured white wines for guests. He specializes in semi-sweet and sweet wines, including the 2004 Šipon Ledeno Vino (Šipon Iced Wine), a medal winner at the London International Wine Fair. Čurin says Šipon got its name when Napoleon visited the region. Upon tasting the wine, the Slovene speakers listening to him thought they heard him say “Šipon.” But what had he really said? According to Čurin: “C’est bon.”
It still is.
Jennifer Dorroh 
Hi Jennifer,
I have been in Ormož that day, too. Someone even told me that there is an American women around (news like this spread quickly). And since you took all the pictures I must have seen you, too. If I had known it was you, I would have looked for you. I’m German (yes, with kind of THE Slovenian surname, that’s because my father is Slovene) and live here in Slovenia a little over 10 ys). I’ll keep on reading your blog and now you no one more of your readers names…
Greetings, Marco
Hi, Marco! Thanks for the comment and for reading. Hope you had fun that day. I think Ormož is definitely worth a visit.
That’s a gorgeous corner of Slovenia, I trust you had a good time!