This year I went looking for a wine advent calendar, and I nearly gave up.

Most of the ones I found were 24 little tubes of 2 to 10 cl. Pretty boxes, but a tube is a sip: it is gone before you have worked out what is in the glass, and it is never enough to put on the table with dinner. I wanted the opposite. Real bottles, wines from places I don’t open every week, and a reason to learn something every evening of December.

The one I chose is siprise!.

Half-bottles, not tubes

siprise! is a young Austrian company started by Nik Kemetner, who grew up on a winery, and Fabian Weingartler, and 2026 is its first calendar. Behind each of the 24 doors there is a half-bottle of 37.5 cl, about three glasses. For me that changes everything: it is a wine you serve with dinner, taste properly, and come back to the next day.

The line-up that made up my mind

What sold me was the list. Twelve whites, nine reds, a rosé and two sparkling wines, from France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal. French wine is home turf for me, so I liked that France takes only seven of the 24 doors. The rest comes from places I rarely open: a Grüner Veltliner from the Kamptal, a Gewürztraminer from Klöch in Austria’s volcanic south-east, a white from the Dão in Portugal, a Negroamaro from Salento, a Barbera d’Asti from Piedmont.

The full list is public, so there is no lottery on quality. What stays a surprise is the order: siprise! doesn’t say which wine is behind which door.

The game I am going to play

Reading the list, I spotted wines that answer each other, and that is the part I am most looking forward to:

  • two Rieslings, Villa Hochdörffer’s Kalkstein from the Pfalz and André Regin’s Cuvée Thomas from Alsace;
  • two Pinot Blancs, from Sabrina Becker in Rheinhessen and from Potzinger in southern Styria;
  • two Chardonnays, a Mâcon-Villages from Burgundy and Frühwirth’s from Austria’s Thermenregion;
  • two Rioja Crianzas, from Izadi and from Viña Real;
  • and a Cava against a Crémant d’Alsace.

I won’t know when each one turns up, so I’ll jot down a few notes on the first wine of each pair and read them again when its twin appears. Same grape, same style, different place: it is the best way I know to understand what a region does to a wine.

Taste first, then watch

A QR code in the box opens a members’ area with a new tasting video every day, hosted by sommelier Branko Mucina (WSET Level 4 Diploma, according to siprise!), plus notes on the wine and the people who make it. My rule: taste first, write down two or three words, then press play and see whether we agree. If you have never tasted that way, our guide to tasting wine takes five minutes. Whites, the rosé and the sparkling wines go in the fridge; for the reds, our red wine serving temperature guide has you covered.

Good to know before you order

It is €214.95 at the early-bird price right now (€239.95 after that), plus shipping. It ships to 15 EU countries, not the UK or the US, and arrives in November: order by 23 November to have it before 1 December. And clear some space, because the box weighs almost 20 kg.

Everything else is on the siprise! website.

If you get one too, tell me which door gave you the biggest surprise.

This article is a paid partnership with siprise!

Photo © siprise!

Frequently asked questions

What is in the siprise! wine advent calendar?

24 half-bottles of 37.5 cl: 12 whites, 9 reds, 1 rosé and 2 sparkling wines from France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal, with a tasting video for each day.

Can I see the wines before buying?

Yes. siprise! publishes the full list of 24 wines on its site. Which wine sits behind which door stays a surprise.

How much is it, and where does it ship?

€214.95 at the early-bird price at the time of writing (€239.95 after that), plus shipping. It ships to 15 EU countries, not to the UK or the US.

When does it arrive?

siprise! ships in November. Order by 23 November to have it before 1 December.