I Tried Aldi's Wine Advent Calendar, and It's the Best $59.99 I'll Spend All Season

It's that time of year when I run, not walk, to Aldi, because the seasonal Advent calendars are back in stock. This year, I was lucky enough to nab the Holiday Magic Wine Advent Calendar, and it's absolutely everything I hoped it would be.

Why I Love Aldi's Holiday Magic Wine Advent Calendar

The Aldi Holiday Magic Wine Advent Calendar costs $59.99, while most other wine advent calendars range in price from $75 to $200. The advent calendar comes with 24 different bottles of wine, each measuring 187ml—approximately an ample six-ounce pour. The entire calendar is equivalent to six bottles of wine for less than $60—a great price.

The selection of wines is quite varied in terms of type, terroir, and style.  There are 12 red wines, 10 white wines, a single rosé, and one sparkling wine. The days alternate between red, white (or rosé), and sparkling.

What I love about the diversity is that the collection gives me the chance to explore different types of wine. Unlike most wine calendars, this is a tasting calendar that pairs up with two different Aldi calendars: the Emporium Selection Cheese Advent Calendar and the Moser Roth Chocolate Advent Calendar.

Each day pairs wine, cheese, and chocolate. In years past, Aldi sold wine, chocolate, and cheese advent calendars, but they weren't designed to be enjoyed together, so this is absolutely brilliant.

To adequately review this calendar, I chose three days at random: day one, four, and 19.

Day one is a delightful red Zinfandel called Meridia. It's smooth, with aromas of dark berry, mushroom, and chocolate, and Aldi pairs it perfectly with a truffle cheddar and a creamy Caracol milk chocolate with a hazelnut center. The wine would also pair nicely with a peppercorn steak or pot roast, and its light, easy tannins make it a perfect wine to kick off the holiday season.

Day four is a Cumulus Hideway Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa. This herbaceous wine has notes of gooseberry and apple and is lovely. It's not as citrusy as New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. I like Sauvignon Blancs, and I really enjoyed this wine. Aldi pairs it with a goat cheese and dark chocolate in the shape of a leaf. The semi-hard goat cheese was a perfect pairing—the cheese enhances the wine, and the wine enhances the cheese.

Day 19 is Shadow Dance, a red blend from Spain with just the right amount of bite. There's a tannin backbone, but it also has juicy cherry and berry aromas.  Aldi pairs it with a whiskey-cheddar and a raspberry dark chocolate. While it stands up to the cheddar and pairs nicely, it is a perfect pairing with the dark chocolate, and the raspberry flavor of the filling brings out raspberry aromas in the wine.

These three samplings make me very excited to open the remaining bottles, but I'm going to save them for December!

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