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There’s something so fun about the thrill of getting a surprise treat as you countdown the days to Christmas. Ripping open advent calendars was one of my favorite parts of celebrating the holiday season during my childhood, but the calendars of my past don’t really pique my culinary interests as a grown-up. 😅 Thankfully, the In Good Taste wine advent calendar is the perfect way to enjoy the fun of an advent calendar as an adult!

A photograph shows the 2022 In Good Taste wine advent calendar sitting on a dining table.

Even though I’ve been making my own cocktails and mocktails at home for over a decade, sometimes you just don’t feel up to the task of mixing a drink, especially during the holiday hustle. If you’re looking to make your own holiday beverages, I have those bases covered with recipes like my pumpkin spice simple syrup and my chocolate espresso martini. But if your definition of “treat yo’self” is popping open a bottle of wine, this review of the wine advent calendar from In Good Taste is for YOU!

ℹ️ quick tl;dr

I like drinking wine, but am by no means a curator, collector, or *gasp* snob. 😜 This post contains my honest opinion about this calendar. All purchases were made using my own money, and I have not been gifted any product mentioned in this post.

This post content has been updated for 2025. I have purchased this twice now, and gifted it, too, in 2022 & 2023. I put off the purchase in 2024 and 2025 because #budget, but I really honestly loved it and would 10/10 purchase again. PLUS, now they have even more options for picking calendars that match the wines you love.

🍷 what is a wine advent calendar?

Advent calendars count down to Christmas from the first day of December. Each day, you open a little flap in the cardboard calendar to reveal a little gift. While originally, the advent calendar tradition had a strong religious connotation, these days, they’re more about having fun and celebrating the season as a whole. I’m here for that definition of the calendars. 😅

📰 how I found the In Good Taste wine advent calendar

(aka the backstory, aka everyone’s favorite part of food blogs)

I was sure there were no advent calendars out there for me, because I don’t have a Kurig, I have only eaten boutique chocolates since the early 1990’s (thanks in part to all the bad advent calendars of my youth), and I don’t trust a cheese that doesn’t need refrigeration. 🫣

I bought a jam advent calendar once, and it was cute at first. By day 10 though…it was no longer my jam. I have seen friends and family purchase wine advent calendars from local grocery chains and big box stores for years, but they always looked lackluster to me. Not to mention, they’re not exactly cheap. So, if you end up with a bad advent calendar, you’re kind of out of luck.

But then, one day in 2021 while scrolling Instagram, I saw something that caught my eye. 👀 A friend from my job at the time posted an advent calendar that was intriguing, sleek, and looked like it actually had GOOD wines. I looked forward to her stories every day when she’d unveil a new wine. By the end, she told me there was only one wine (out of 24!) that she didn’t care for. I knew right then that I would purchase one of these in 2022. 🤩

why you’ll love this wine advent calendar:

🍷 perfect for wine drinkers. If you enjoy drinking wine, and you enjoy trying different varieties, this calendar is a fantastic way to celebrate the holiday season.

🤌 sample sized. Whether you choose to enjoy them the same day you open them, or save them up for a flight on the weekend, these mini bottles are wonderfully sized for sampling!

🎁 totally gift-able. Whether you’re getting a gift for yourself (you’re doing great!!!) or for someone you love, this advent calendar is a fun and interactive gift that keeps giving all month long!

A mini bottle of red wine from the 2022 In Good Taste wine advent calendar.

📦 unboxing

Opening each day of the advent calendar is almost as much fun as drinking each wine! The team at In Good Taste totally nailed the packaging on this advent calendar, and it was a true joy to open the wines each day. The shipping process was flawless and both of my advent calendars arrived in great condition. The shipping process was great, although I did order two calendars, and they arrived on different days. There was one day where the cardboard circle was popped out, but luckily there were no spoilers with the bottle. I hate a spoiler—more on that below! 😬

👍 the good

  • packaging – packaging can really make or break a purchase, especially when you see it hyped on social media like I did. In Good Taste actually revamped the branding and packaging between 2021 and 2022. And they’ve kept the branding similar as the years have progressed. The boxes were well-packed, and the bottles in each box were perfectly preserved; not one bottle was compromised!
  • bottle size – the mini bottles are about 6 ounces, making it the perfect large pour of wine. You can enjoy one per day, or save them up and have a flight after a few days. I enjoyed saving them for the weekend and dividing them into flights. It was also fun to have a glass with dinner throughout December.
  • quality– I’m not a sommelier, but I do have particular wines I like. Some of my favorite wines are $11-20 per bottle, so I don’t believe you need to pay top dollar for quality wines. But, I am past the “two buck chuck” phase of my life as well. I’d say that the bulk of these wines were on par with some of my favorite wines I regularly buy. I do also love the mission statement of In Good Taste, which is to make wine tastings more accessible to the everyday wine drinker. No gatekeeping here! 🤩
  • virtual tastings – One of my BFFs also purchased the calendar. We enjoyed comparing notes, celebrating ones we loved, and scoffing at each other’s favorite selections throughout the month. It was honestly so much fun to connect throughout the month of December, and we both agreed it was a purchase we loved.

👌 the okay

  • variety – usually, we get stuck in our wine ways in my house. Lots of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio live in our fridge at any given moment. It was nice to be able to try so many other varieties of wine and make notes of which ones we liked. We did feel like there were some very similar kinds of wine flavor-wise. But overall, I was impressed with the variety! Out of all the wines, there was only one or two I didn’t care for. And there was only one bottle I passed on completely. I wish there was a way to enjoy sparkling wines in this calendar because it would be SO CUTE to have a split of champagne as a surprise one of the days. 🍾 (UPDATE: they now offer calendars that have only red wine, only white + rose wine, and even “luxury” options, too! I’m still waiting on the sparkling ones though. 😛)
  • extra info – in 2022, the company included a pamphlet of the wines included in the box, which was cute in theory, but ended up being a minefield of spoilers to navigate. In 2023, they decided to include a sheet of scratch-offs, so each day, you scratch off the number to reveal the wine below. I preferred this much more to the booklet at first, but we stopped using the scratch-offs because there’s not a whole lot of information you can fit in a tiny space. From 2024 on, it looks like things have gone digital with emails and QR codes, which kinda loses the fun special “extra” feeling the pamphlet had in 2022.

Wanna save this recipe for later? 📬

I'll email this recipe post to you so you can have it for later!

👎 the not-so-good

  • price – the price point of the calendar is a bit more than others you’ll find in grocery stores and big box stores. At $140+ full price, you’re paying about $5.84 per mini bottle of wine. The good thing is they do run sales throughout the launch of the calendars, so get on their email list if you want to get the best deals.
  • difficulty buying bottles – the wines you’ll find in the advent calendar are great for sampling. But if you absolutely love a variety, it may not necessarily be available for purchase from In Good Taste. The silver lining is that you can at least make note of the variety you like, so you can find something similar in a wine shop later on.
  • harder to enjoy together – while the mini bottles are the perfect size for enjoying a large pour of wine to yourself, if you want to share this with your partner, you’re looking at about 3 ounces each. I opted to purchase two calendars, one for me and one for my husband. In 2022, it was quite the splurge at $320 total. I did purchase them at full price and paid shipping. In 2023 and beyond, the cost now includes shipping, which is better news!

🧾 would I buy it again?!

Yup! You bet! I am a fan for life of this advent calendar! I’ve bought a few advent calendars over the years. But, this is one I will definitely buy again. It’s a fun “treat yo’self” moment in the hectic holiday rush. Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely a splurge. While it is more expensive than other options, I think the price is fair for the quality offered. Six bucks a day is worth that to me, especially considering it’s just once a year! I think it’s a nice little tradition to update from my childhood of chalky chocolate in cardboard boxes. 🥹 I skipped out on buying this in 2024 and definitely missed the fun, and as I update this for 2025 I am contemplating the splurge…😂

💭 final thoughts

If you’re a big wine connoisseur, or thinking of gifting it to someone who is, you might wanna skip this and pick up a favorite bottle instead. BUT! I think this advent calendar is a phenomenal way to try a variety of quality wines and discover more about your personal preferences. This advent calendar is thoughtfully curated, exceptionally packaged, and beautifully put together.

Good wine is wine that YOU like!

I have one friend who puts frozen mango in her red wine. I have one who only drinks super sweet rosé. And I love popping a few clear ice cubes in my wines. Yeah…even the red ones. 😇

A wine fridge is filled with small wine bottles from the In Good Taste wine advent calendar.

ℹ️ tips and tricks for getting your wine advent calendar

  • be in the know – sign up for the mailing list over at In Good Taste! They’ll share any active sales or coupon codes they have, and they’ll let you know exactly when the calendars are in stock. The specialty calendars do sell out quicker than the standard mixed-bottle calendar, too.
  • avoid spoilers – if you like surprises in your calendars, avoid checking your email from In Good Taste or looking at their social channels during the first 24 days of December, or until you open your wines!
  • repurpose your bottles – use your 24 adorable bottles for things like propagating plants, using as bud vases for flowers, or storing salad dressings or smaller portions of oil and vinegar. You can also use them to gift simple syrups or homemade liquor infusions to family and friends throughout the year!
A bottle of lavender infused vodka sits on a cutting board with dried lavender sprigs. It is tied with a bow and a sprig of dried lavender, ready to be given as a gift.

I love repurposing these bottles for homemade liqueur or liquor infusions, like my lavender vodka shown in this photo.

Don’t worry about saving the corks– I purchased some stoppers on Amazon (affiliate link), and they fit the bottles perfectly!

💬 q+a

Is the advent calendar from In Good Taste worth it?

If you are a wine drinker and are interested in trying a variety of wines, this is a great way to do that during the month of December! It can also be fun to share with family and friends during a holiday party!

What kinds of wines are included with the In Good Taste wine advent calendar?

You get a wide variety of wines, including red, white and rosé wines. From bold Cabernets to flavorful Languedoc, from crisp Chardonnay to refreshing Verdejo, you’re sure to find something you love!

Where are the wines from in the advent calendar?

The wines are sourced from several places in the world, including California, France, Italy and Spain. You can learn more about the offerings on the In Good Taste website.

A photo shows a full glass of wine from the 2022 In Good Taste wine advent calendar

Lindsey Neumayer is a culinary content creator at A Recipe For Fun based in Central Florida. She is a classically trained baking and pastry student from Valencia College who also has over 14 years of experience in the fields of education, training, & development. She uses her expertise in education and the culinary arts to share easy-to-follow recipes that you can recreate with confidence at home!

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