6th October 2023 | Life at Virgin Wines | 3 minute read
The legendary Virgin Wines Christmas countdown has returned, and it’s filled with lots of exciting new treats for 2023. Every year, just like Santa, we listen to your requests and ‘wish list’ wines to bring you something extra special that’ll really make your Christmas. Read on to discover some of the best new wines in our Wine Advent Calendars for 2023.
Once again, we think our buying team have truly excelled themselves in collating a line-up of bottles you’ll be talking about long after December is over. Our buyers are the brains behind the wines in our calendars, sourcing new wines from around the world for our Christmas countdown of mini bottles, as well as creating lots of brand-new blends our customer have never seen before. From luscious, velvety reds to enticing whites, it’s always a stylish selection.
There are plenty of new things to love about this year’s calendars, including the fact that the main person who sources the advent wines for you is now officially the UK’s best wine buyer. That’s right, our wonderful Head of Buying, Sophie Lord, has been named ‘Wine Buyer of the Year’ at the Decanter Retailer Awards 2023 (which is basically the Oscars of the wine world!). We’ve always known she’s got impeccable taste and a highly attuned palate, but we can now say that she is the best in the business.
The line-up of wines in our Wine Advent Calendars this year is pretty exciting, if we do say so ourselves! We asked Sophie to highlight some of her personal favourites that are new for 2023, and why she can’t wait for our customers to enjoy these particular wines as they count down to Christmas Day.
This wine is a great example of how our advent calendars can help you discover new finds! The Zafferino Grechetto Gentile is made with a little-known Italian grape that makes for a gorgeously aromatic and fresh white wine. We’d highly recommend this one as an aperitif.
If you’re a fan of French Cabernet Franc then we think you’ll love this. Done in the classic Loire style, it’s actually from the Curico Valley in Chile where Cabernet Franc is on the rise. The Tu Yo Tres is a lovely medium-bodied red which has lashings of fresh strawberries and a touch of spicy black pepper.
A beautiful Aussie Sauvignon that is sure to slake your thirst! We reckon this is a real find. It’s super zesty and packed with lovely tropical fruit flavours, underlined by herbaceous notes. Make sure you have it properly chilled before opening to get the best out of this one.
In many ways this is classic Italian Sangiovese with bright cherry fruit and sweet spices; but the Vitalita is made with 10% of a juicy little Merlot ripasso parcel we discovered which gives it extra depth and structure. On the day you open the window with this bottle inside you’ll have to change your dinner plans to pizza or pasta, for sure!
This delightful rosé is sure to be a highlight of your advent calendar this year. It’s made with fruity Merlot in a super-dry style so you get loads of delicious red berry fruit flavours on a crisp, refreshing palate. A really good bottle to enjoy with light Asian cuisine like stir fry.
