I am proud to say that while I have cut down on my swollen book collection, gotten rid of my CD's (they've all been ripped and the CD's sold off), and given a lot of old clothes away, I love collecting wine bottles (full). It's not that I INVEST in wine or anything as snooty as that, but I really like (insert guilty *smile* here) having racks of them so that we don't have to run out to the store every week and can have that feeling of ABUNDANCE in our home...
Out in our family's weekend home, I just finished achieving my dream: the installation of six contiguous wine racks that hold way too much wine, but completely TRANSFORM the look and feel of our little dining room (picture to follow - but sample of two racks from our apartment is below). I installed the racks on Saturday and bought two cases of great wine (between $10-$20 a bottle is my range) recommended by my friend Jacques who owns this store. So, with that in mind, here is my roundup of great wine racks for your home walls and my recommendation to use racks and bottles as an affordable, imbibable, organic way of decorating your kitchen or dining room.
BTW, for those of you who are wary of wine storage like this that leaves bottle vulnerable to the light, I asked a really knowledgeable fellow about this and he said that, yes, direct light is bad for wine. But if you're storing wine there to consume on a regular basis and not doing any aging, it is fine in this kind of rack. Wine is a lot sturdier than most people think. If you expose wine to drastic temperature changes, like from fridge to warm outdoor conditions, back in fridge, back outside, etc., that can take its toll. Ideally, wine should be kept in a darker place, but we all don't have perfect scenarios for storing wine and for a short period of time, this kind of storage is fine. Just about every wine store has similar lighting, and those bottles are kept out.
With stuff you care about, put it in the bottom of your closet.
>> Classic 12-Bottle Hardwood Wine Rack (expandable) - these really are great and we've used these many times with a dab of glue in the joints
>> Cellar Wine Rack from CB2 - I really liked their metal take on this classic four triangle design
>> Built-In Mailing Tube Wine Rack from Readymade - who can argue with DIY that looks like Shiguru Ban?
>> Float Wall Shelf by Modern Cellar - I liked this for the wood and the fact that it displayed single bottles nicely at the same time (not for those with cats or children)
>> SPORADIC Wall Panel - just supercool
>> VURM Wine Rack from Ikea - as always, Ikea finds some cool, high end design and makes it for pennies.
Other Good Rack Sources to Troll Around In for Pricing:
>> International Wine Accessories
>> Beverage Factory
Our Past Wine Rack Roundups:
>> 12 Small Space Wine Racks - Chicago
>> Best Wine Racks - San Francisco
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These look great, especially in white and mounted on those pennyrounds. We never have more than 2-3 bottles of wine in the house at any one time, so it's hard for me to justify putting a rack in my kitchen, but...
view Anna at D16's profile
We need something like this! Our wine is in boxes on the floor. Ah well. By the way, if you ever want to stock up on lots of different reds for tasting, it's simple: Have a party. Buy only white wine and maybe a single bottle of red to get you started. Everyone who walks through the door will come bearing a bottle of red (not sure why, but no one brings white!). You will have lots of excellent reds to enjoy over the next few months, and will need a lovely wine rack like one of these shown.
view sarahlily's profile
I love the mailing tube idea. The shelves in our dining room's china cabinet are too short to put wine bottles in upright, and this could be the perfect solution if I can find some mailing tubes! (preferable free..)
view michpc's profile
Mailing tubes would be a good idea since I keep my wine stacked inside a closed kitchen cabinet (a cool/dry place)
view bepsf's profile
A wine bar called Crush (now closed) in San Diego had their wine stored in sections of PVC tubes. They were lit from behind with blue christmas lights and looked really cool.
view maidmoron's profile
Mmmm, imbibable. Delicious!
Does anyone have/use this one? http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60087161
It doesn't specifically say "wine rack" just bottle rack, so I'm wondering if it would still serve the same purpose. I like the idea of mounting this under a cabinet and having a couple bottles just floating. :)
view sparkle's profile
Easy DIY
view quiltmaster's profile