I tried the Good Pair Days advent calendar and think its the best on the market

28 November 2023 , 17:00

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I tried Good Pair Days 12 Wines of Christmas advent calendar

I've been seeing Good Pair Days be advertised pretty much everywhere and as the resident wine expert here at the Mirror, having studied my Level 1 and 2 Awards in Wine at WSET, decided I needed to see what the fuss is. Recently they released a selection of advent calendars and it seemed like a great way to try out the brand.

There are four different free gifts you can get your hands on with the calendar which I think is a lovely touch. The Chiller Set has sold out but there's still a Travel Set, Picnic Pack or Points Pack where you can spend your points on even more wine.

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There are also four different variations of the advent calendar, you can get Mixed which will contain red, white, rose and sparkling wine, Chillable which has the same but without red wine or an all Red or all Sparkling box. There is then the choice of Classic for £145, Fancy for £255 or Extra Fancy for £365.

Each calendar comes with a gift

I got a Mixed Classic advent calendar and was lucky enough to get the Chiller Set in mine, although I do think the Picnic Set will be ideal for the new year when the weather warms up enough to enjoy the weather outside.

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I've tried a few boozy advent calendars this year, and in the past, and one thing that makes this one stand out if that the bottles are all full sized. I really like this as it makes it easier to share with friends and family alike which I, like many others, find to be fitting with the holiday spirit.

The box it's delivered in, with your postage details on top, is also the advent calendar - I think this is great as I've received many calendars this year and have found excessive amounts of packaging to be quite frustrating. There are twelve full bottles and a really good mix at that.

The wines all come with a card giving the history, tasting notes and further details

There are three sparkling wines hailing from Italy and Spain, one of which is also a rose, I found this interesting as none were Proseccos which are the most common sparkling wine we seem to see nowadays. Each wine comes with a little card which I think is such a great touch.

It gives you background information on the wine, how it's made and where it's from but also detailed tasting notes and a break down of the wine. Not all of them are vegan friendly but the ones that are it lets you know - I love this as a touch as I often share a bottle of wine with a vegan friend and it makes it so much easier to confirm it's fine for her to drink. While wines are made of grapes it's in the wine making process that non-vegan substances can be introduced making it unsuitable for some drinkers.

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There's also a recipe card on the back suggesting a great pairing for the bottle at hand. I think this is great and will keep hold of the cards just for these recipes. Most wines are not suitable for ageing for years but all the wines included in this advent calendar are ready to drink while also suitable for drinking up until 2026 which is great if you're planning to savour them over a period of time.

I think this is great value for money, while it's not cheap at all you get a lot for your money which you don't necessarily see with rival calendars. I am also quite a fan of the Naked Wines calendar but it doesn't contain anywhere near as much wine and isn't great for sharing.

Jada Jones