St. Martin, arriving on a white horse and 11 November are symbolical not just for its first snow but in present days mainly for its first glass of St. Martin’s wine. Moravian and Czech wine makers have continued with the old tradition of paying labourers and extending their work contracts. Doing so they very successfully managed to crush the offensive of French wine makers and their Beaujolais. And why on 11th? It is apparently the same crazy number as is the young wine.

St. Martin’s wine is only permitted to be made of designated types of Valtelina Early Red and Müller Thurgau grapes for white wines and St. Laurent’s and Blue Portugal grapes for rose and red wines. And those who want to be certified to sell these wines must comply with strict quality criteria, controlled by the Viticulture Committee of the Czech Republic.

In addition, St. Martin’s food festival is also known for its crispy roasted goose. Goose meat is of high quality and goose is a versatile domestic animal. Young geese are consumed during Moravian food festivals in July and August, but those that are fed longer can be enjoyed particularly during St. Martin’s festivals. South Moravia is abundant with birds and poultry and that is reflected into the eating habits of its inhabitants. Young wine and nicely fed goose naturally evoke pleasant associations. Goose meat consumption is known to attack our slim figures but that does not need to be the case. Of course this meat is somewhat heavier and that is why connnoisseurs would rather enjoy it at lunch time as supposed to dinner time. I suspect though that they have half a goose in mind which, quite truthfully, would be very difficult to digest. Here it is necessary to make a reminder of another tradition, the one of Gascogne in France, called Gascogne complex. This area is known for its lowest rate of heart disease in Europe.

Roasted goose breast, served as cold cuts, is one of their special dishes. Also Jewish people that moved to European countries took a liking to goose meat for being the source of lard and fatty food. More than likely they did not want to observe our indulgent pork festivals and wanted to create a bit of a competition. So we are left with some goose dishes such as Goose in shoulet or Goose in ginger. Goose was a complete substitute for pork so Jewish people also had goose salami in their repertoire.
Roasted goose is also a traditional local delicacy in the village of Slovenský Grób in Slovakia. Unfortunately, geese are mass-produced here.

But let’s go back to our tradition. Goose has been traditionally eaten with beer, but it certainly goes better with young wine. Beer, which is of a more alkaline or neutral Ph, dilutes bile and therefore slows down the process of digestion. On the other hand, young Moravian St. Martin’s wine is of a higher acidity and aids good digestion.
The best combination is thus home roasted goose with St. Martin’s red wine. My Hotel restaurant in Lednice has a delicious recipe for goose in St. Martin’s wine (see recipe).

My Hotel restaurant really specialises in goose delicacies which appear on their menu exceptionally for up to three weeks after 11 November. Goose with cabbage, goose in St. Martin’s wine, goose breast in ginger, gratinated goose giblets and other special dishes. According to tradition, geese prepared in this hotel are home produced, so come and see for yourselves!

President Václav Klaus with his wife had an opportunity, together with 36 mayors and the South Moravia region’s governor Mr. Juránek, to taste the goose during a celebratory dinner on 17 Novemeber 2007. Witness accounts state that there were only bones left. That’s why My Hotel has included The Presidential Menu in a tasting menu for general clientele so that they can have a chance to taste this presidential speciality.

Recipe for St. Martin’s Goose in St. Martin’s wine
Cut a home produced goose in portions, add some salt and leave it to rest in a cool place for at least two days.

Dice some home made bacon, mushrooms and shallots, fry these in lard and put in your portions of goose to brown. Add some St. Martin’s red wine, cover and roast slowly for at least two and a half hours, adding wine constantly. When the goose is nice and tender, add some veal jelly, reduce the sauce down to half its original quantity, liquidise and then strain. Fry some bacon, mushrooms and shallots uncut in butter to garnish your dish. Add to your prepared sauce and simmer shortly. As a result the sauce should be thick and aromatic. Turn the goose over and grill the skin till it is crispy.

Slice potatoes into chip like shapes and roast in the oven, only add salt before serving.

Serve your goose with potato chips, garnish with shallots, mushrooms and slices of bacon. Bon appetite!