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The Vinebox Wine Advent Calendar Has Sold Out 7 Years in a Row — and I Tested It Out

Sip through up to 24 nights of Californian and European wines with Vinebox’s 2024 Advent calendar.

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Published on November 25, 2024

A person holding a a wine sample in front of Vinebox's Wine Advent Calendar — Photo:
Food & Wine / Henry Wortock

Aside from baking equipment and food, there are very few items that I prioritize buying for myself. Advent calendars, however, top the priority list every year. Whether I proactively order an extravagant food calendar or casually snag a discounted chocolate Advent calendar from the grocery store, one or two versions inevitably make it into my home before the year’s end.

This year, I had the opportunity to test an Advent calendar that’s more... mature than your grab-and-go grocery edition. I introduce you to 12 Nights of Wine by Vinebox, a subscription service known for its tubular wine bottling. The festive calendar arrives at your doorstep cradling 12 tastings of wine from various wine regions. Vinebox makes a point to include wines you normally can’t find in your local store, and it sends each tasting in a patented, airtight vial filled with enough libation to share.

Vinebox’s 2024 Advent calendar has two variations, Coastal Holiday and European Holiday. I tried both (the 24 Nights of Wine option) and have many thoughts.

Vinebox 12 Nights of Wine

PHOTO: Food & Wine / Vinebox

View on Vinebox.com

Why the Vinebox Wine Advent Calendar Is Worth Buying

Compared to other wine advent calendars, I found Vinebox’s to offer more variety, more unique options, and better longevity.

The first of the collections, Coastal Holiday, leads you through the American West Coast, stopping at vineyards and wineries in both California and Washington. I identified some very familiar varietals in this collection, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, and Chardonnay; however, the winemakers were not so conventional. A couple of the vineyards are so obscure that I had a hard time finding them online, which gave this “wine tour” a bit of mystery.

Vinebox curated this year’s European Holiday collection from France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Some of my highlights were the spicy Spanish Tempranillo and the Touriga-rich Portuguese red blends. The lineup is well-balanced, no matter which collection you choose: You’ll get seven or eight reds, two rosés, and whites for the rest.

PHOTO: Food & Wine / Henry Wortock
PHOTO: Food & Wine / Henry Wortock
PHOTO: Food & Wine / Henry Wortock
PHOTO: Food & Wine / Henry Wortock
PHOTO: Food & Wine / Henry Wortock
PHOTO: Food & Wine / Henry Wortock
PHOTO: Food & Wine / Henry Wortock
PHOTO: Food & Wine / Henry Wortock

Every vial snaps open with an entrancing amount of fog (a sign of the wine’s airtight conservation) and is filled with 100 milliliters or nearly 3.5 ounces of vino. This was plenty for me to enjoy a small glass by myself or split with others. Plus, I could enjoy my tasting and not feel guilty about inevitably leaving an unfinished bottle to turn to vinegar.

Something that sets these wine collections apart from other drink Advent calendars for me is the guided tasting notes. I received not only a frame-worthy set of menus listing the varietals, vineyards, and tasting notes but also the QR code to a full video tasting guide led by sommelier Brielle Buckler. While following my guide, I noticed that these wines developed their most robust tasting notes in the appropriate wine glasses (sorry, universal glassware), so I highly recommend you have stemware for both red and white wine in your bar cart.

I also appreciate the thoughtful design of the Vinebox Advent calendar’s packaging. The bright red Coastal Holiday and royal blue European Holiday boxes shine with gold accents and have magnetic strips to help keep them securely closed. The vials are snug and safe in individual foam cavities, and the wine is transferred from bottle to vial using a patented and sterile oxygen-free process. “During the transfer,” says Vinebox senior buyer and sommelier Neal Hustava, “Vinbeox uses an inert gas like nitrogen to create a barrier between the wine and oxygen.” Using this method, Vinebox guarantees its wines will last for three years, whereas competitors suggest enjoying their wine selections within three months. In other words, you could drink these vials nightly during Advent or wait until particularly Advent-urous nights to open a new vial. Either way, the wine will stay bottle-fresh for a long time.

Vinebox Holiday 24 Nights of Wine Advent — Food & Wine / Henry Wortock

The Caveats

By no means do I discriminate against sweet wine. As a tasting room associate at a winery that predominantly serves dry and off-dry wine, I frequently help people with sweeter palates find fruit-forward options that suit their tastes. As is the nature of a tasting, sometimes it works really well, and sometimes it doesn’t. I’d argue the chances of Vinebox’s selection suiting sweeter palates are pretty low. The wines are fruity, robust, acidic, smoky, earthy, and more, but they aren’t for fans of higher sugar content.

The other limitation has to do with regionality: The calendars don’t tap into other wine regions and countries that produce great wines. The European Holiday collection, albeit curated from popular wine-producing countries, could have represented underrated wine regions like those of Germany and Austria. The Coastal Holiday collection is exactly as it sounds and doesn’t extend into Appalachian and New English wine territory, but I would love to see an Advent calendar that does.

How It Compares

While this Advent calendar experience is unique, I thought it could benefit from some sort of small detail to really set it apart — like a small tasting glass. That way, you could throw the boxes and vials out and keep a glass reminder of your remote trip through the American West Coast and European wine country.

At $130 for one collection of 12 wines, the Vinebox Advent calendar is well-priced among its competitors. The selection is limited in that it doesn’t include sweet or bubbly options. But the wines that made the cut — from classic whites like Pinot Gris to interesting rosés and red blends — were meticulously curated and well worth the cost.

The selected wines have complex flavor profiles and various, intriguing tasting notes that most wine lovers will enjoy. I also found that the included tasting notes hold their weight. Not to mention, the wines are carefully preserved so that you can sip on them for years to come, literally.

Vinebox European Holiday 12 Nights of Wine Advent — Food & Wine/Henry Wortock

The Verdict

For dry wine lovers and wine drinkers with a curious palate, the Vinebox 12 Nights of Wine Advent Calendar is a pleasant, boozy surprise in a beautiful box. You can casually sip through the holidays or use Vinebox’s patented vial technology to its capacity by drinking these over several months — the world is your wine bottle. If you’re looking to gift yourself or someone else these collections, one 12 Nights of Wine pack costs $130, and you can snag the 24 Nights of Wine combo collection for just $200.

More Drink Advent Calendars

Our Expertise

Dillon Evans, a Food & Wine Update Writer, has worked in the Dahlonega Plateau wine region for over two years. He has researched, written about, and tested countless wines and wine accessories and used that experience to evaluate the Vinebox wine Advent calendar. Dillon’s work can also be found at EatingWell, and his favorite varietal is Cynthiana (when it’s done right).

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