Costco Gets Into The Holiday Spirit Early With A New Wine Advent Calendar

The holiday season is right around the corner, so like many stores, Costco is getting a jumpstart on holiday gift offerings. Whether you're buying it as a treat for yourself or someone else, the wholesale club's 2024 wine advent calendar is now available for purchase at some locations. The Take a Wine Adventure pack features 24 half bottles of wine, each of which yields about 2.5 glasses with a standard 5-ounce pour. The product sells for $99.99 and contains wines from countries around the world, including Spain, Argentina, Bulgaria, France, Japan, Portugal, Italy, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. It also features an impressive variety of wines, such as merlot, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, rosé, moscato, Chianti, shiraz, malbec, and sake. If you're searching for the wine advent calendar in the store, you'll likely find it in the beer and wine aisles. 

Advent calendars have been around for centuries, but they've changed significantly over the years. The origin of these festive calendars can be traced to the 19th century, when German Protestants would count down the four weeks leading up to Christmas (a time period known as the advent) by lighting candles, making chalk marks, or hanging up devotional images. The holiday calendars have evolved from simple religious countdowns to more delicious rituals, often including food. For instance, people might celebrate with a daily piece of chocolate or elaborate treats, such as specialty spreads (like the jam-packed Bonne Maman 2024 Limited Edition Calendar), cheese, tea (like the Pukka Herbal and Tea Gift Calendar), spices, beer, and, of course, wine. 

According to responses in a Reddit post regarding Costco's Take A Wine Adventure calendar, not all shoppers are excited for the international wine pack's return. Some negative opinions of the previous year's product include: "If it's anything like last year's, it was not good" and "I got this last year and don't think I'd do it again if it's the same supplier." One Reddit user said they bought it for half price after the holidays and it still wasn't worth the money, while another preferred the beer advent calendar, but only when it's on clearance. Total Wine, as a person mentioned in the thread, has an $80 wine advent calendar, however, the wine bottles are smaller (187 milliliters vs. Costco's 375 milliliters). While Costco may have a lot of wine to offer, Total Wine has overtaken Costco as the biggest wine retailer in the U.S. 

If you're not keen on the wines in the advent calendar, you can always check out the best red, white, and rosé wines to buy at Costco. Also, make sure you're schooled on the best and worst bargain wines at Costco before wine shopping at the wholesale club. However, if you or your gift recipient is more of a whiskey drinker, you might choose to buy Costco's Whisky Tour of the World (available at select locations), which features 24 premium whiskies (in mini 50-milliliter bottles), two tumblers, and a distillery guidebook.