The 2025 Aldi Winter Wonderland Wine Advent Calendar arrived on November 5th and we’ve got a full review, including a comparison to the very similar Costco version!
If you’re an Aldi shopper (or a Costco shopper shut out of the Costco Wine Advent Calendar this year since you are in the Midwest), Aldi has your back!
In fact, the Aldi version comes from the exact same group, Flying Blue Imports, and is very similar [update: as in most of the wines are exactly the same with just different labels, see below] with a broad range of regions and varieties. The major difference is that Aldi uses 187ml (quarter) bottles instead of the 375ml (half) bottles in the Costco version – but it also costs $40 less at $59.99.
The 2025 Aldi Winter Wonderland Wine Advent Calendar released on 11/5 exclusively at Aldi stores and as we experienced, they sell out fast! We weren’t able to arrive at a store until 9:30 and we grabbed their very last box. Evidently people began lining up at 7:30am for the store opening at 8:30.
As we mentioned above, the Aldi wine advent calendar is especially good for those in the Midwest where Costco once again decided not to sell their very popular Wine Adventure Calendar. (And sorry Minnesota – since Aldi doesn’t sell wine here we get shut out of both!!)
And as we noted above, we’ve found that most of the wines included in the boxes are the same, with different labels. Here are a few examples:
The other nice thing about the Aldi box is that you can also pick up their Winter Wonderland Cheese Advent Calendar (just $16.99) and/or their Winter Wonderland Moser Roth Chocolate Advent Calendar (just $17.99) to pair with your wines. In fact, the box even gives recommended pairings!
Now that we have a box ourselves, we’ve got all our tasting notes for each wine below. If you’re reading this before 12/1 and aren’t worried about ruining the surprise, keep on reading, otherwise bookmark this page and come back each day in December!
**Spoiler Alert**
Here are the wines and the tasting notes! (You can also find the wines on the Flying Blue site here.)
Days 1-6 in the Aldi Winter Wonderland Wine Advent Calendar
- Meridia Zinfandel from California
- Swift Dive Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand
- Copper Grouse Cabernet Sauvignon from France
- Cumulus Hideaway Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa
- Crush Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile
- Trim Vine Delle Venezie Pinot Grigio from Italy
Some nice licorice notes on the nose, a bit soft and sweet in the mouth.
Appropriately grassy with tropical fruit flavors in the mouth but it could use a bit more acidity.
Not a bad example of Cabernet. Actually gets better with a little air.
A non-grassy Sauvignon Blanc with a lip-smacking finish.
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Not my favorite, lots of green pepper (pyrazine) notes as is common with Cab from Chile.
Attractive and fruity with nice depth on the tropical fruit flavors.
Days 7-12 in the Aldi Winter Wonderland Wine Advent Calendar
- Vol Royal Cotes du Rhone Red Blend from France
- Paper Dream Rosé from Aude, France
- Sunset Peak Chardonnay from California
- Peregrine Ridge Landwein Rhein Riesling from Germany
- Lady In Red Pinotage from South Africa
- Citrio Chardonnay from France
A basic but decent Cotes du Rhone red using all the major varieties – 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre, 5% Cinsault and 5% Carignan.
Crisp, tart and not super fruity. This is actually a nice example of dry rosé. It comes from the Aude region along the Mediterranean coast in the Languedoc wine region.
A buttery disaster!
Simple, smooth, sweet and easy to drink.
An approachable example of this polarizing variety.
A total dud.
Days 13-18 in the Aldi Winter Wonderland Wine Advent Calendar
- Hidden Hollow Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina
- Venteux 22 Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc from France
- Modern Motif Red Blend from Australia
- Sturdy Foundation Chenin Blanc from Western Cape, South Africa
- Horizon De Lalonde Pinot Noir from France
- Majestad Chardonnay from from South Eastern Australia
A very ripe and a bit funky version of Malbec.
It smells good, with tropical fruit and some grassy notes but the taste is very disjointed and just not good.
A smooth and pleasant blend of 60% Shiraz and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon
A fresh, clean, tasty example of this variety that does so well in South Africa.
Bland and tasteless Pinot unfortunately.
A decent, smooth Chardonnay but it has a bit of an odd flavor to it I can’t quite put my finger on.
Days 19-24 in the Aldi Winter Wonderland Wine Advent Calendar
- Shadow Dance Red Blend from Spain
- Seek & Escape Gruner Veltliner from Hungary
- Performer Cabernet Sauvignon from California
- Tru Reign White Blend from Greece
- Luna Brillante Carmenere from Chile from Chile
- Aston Deschamps Sparkling Brut from France
Mainly Syrah, this an odd example that is super juicy and rather sweet.
Tart, smooth and tasty, this is nice example of this under-appreciated (in the US) variety.
A mediocre California Cab.
A Greek blend of undisclosed varieties. It’s rather sweet but has some nice tropical fruit flavors.
Pretty true to the variety with lots of green notes.
A bit shy on the nose but crisp and nicely fruity in the mouth.
And there you have it for the 2025 Aldi Winter Wonderland Wine Advent Calendar! All in all a pretty nice combination of almost all decent wines with just a couple duds.
Cheers,
Jon
