Wine Racks
Store With Style

If a full blown wine cellar is not in the cards for you, then a rack may be the answer. There are almost as many kinds and styles of wine racks as there are wines. Which one? Let’s simplify things:

Racks By Size

• Jumbo wall size units. Holding 200 or more bottles, they are most suited for wine cellars but if you have a wall that needs decorating, this may be for you. Looking like entertainment centers, many will have a section for hanging your wine glasses and a table top for wine accessories and cheese plates. And don’t worry, you can put your paintings on a different wall.
• Medium and large size racks. Holding 25 - 200 bottles, they are variations of the different types and designs below.
• Small wine racks. Holding 25 bottles or less, these are suitable for smaller apartments and smaller collections. Some very small racks can go on top of a counter or table. Wine Enthusiast offers many of these types of racks.

Racks By Type

• Floor standing racks. Self-explanatory, but I distinguish these from racks that are wall-mounted or placed on counters or tables.
• Wall racks. These can be floor standing racks that are anchored to the wall or hanging racks attached to the wall.
• Counter and tabletop racks. Very small decorative racks if you have very limited space.
• Console racks with table tops. These are nice since you can store all of your accessories, cheese plates, etc. on top of it and your wine and even some glasses below. This is the kind that I have. Others will have drawers for storage.
• Wine cabinets. Some may call a regular wine rack a cabinet but if it has a door, then I would call it a cabinet. Refrigerators and coolers fall into this category.
• Carts. To be wheeled up to your guests, these hold a handful of bottles and have room for some glasses and accessories. Then put your food on top of the cart and indulge.

Racks By Design

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• Cubes. These have a X type of section in the middle of the cube. Useful for storing multiple bottles of 4 different kinds of wine.
• Lattices. As the name implies, these contain wooden cross-hatching just the right size for the bottle. There will be two lattice sections - one for the top of the bottle and one for the bottom.
• Diamonds. For larger collections, diamond shaped racks are more space efficient. Sections of those racks can be reserved for your cases of wine. You would lay all the like bottles into the same section of the rack. Then just grab a bottle from the top.
• Waterfalls. These are racks that are taller in back and lower in the front. Hence they look like a waterfall.
• Hanging wine racks. Instead of a painting, hang some of your wine on the wall. Just make sure you find those wall studs and that the wall will support it. So instead of 99 bottles of beer on the wall, you can have 99 bottles of wine on the wall.
• Modular racks. These are cubes or columns of racks that attach to each other as your collection grows. They can be arranged in many decorative ways.
• Stackable. Same as modular - just stack one on top of another as needed.
• Columns. These are tall and skinny for tight spaces. Multiple columns can be stacked together along the wall.
• Case racks. These have shelves for the case box as well as slots for wine bottles.
• Half height. As the name implies, they are shorter and may be suitable for counter tops or tables.

Racks By Material

• Wood. These are the most common and best looking racks in my opinion. You can get anything from pine to oak. Personal taste and affordability rule here.
• Metal. More durable than wood and still a matter of personal taste. These are made of anything from pewter to wrought iron.

Additional tidbits that
inquiring minds should know:

• First, try to figure out how large a rack you will need. Ask yourself how many bottles of wine that you want to store. Then add 30% - 40% more. This is so you have room for those extra must-have wines. You will also need room for the wines that you intend to keep for aging and special occasions.
• If you plan to store just a half dozen or so bottles, you can get one of those counter top wine racks which come in many styles and shapes. Just don’t be tempted to store it on the kitchen countertop as the kitchen is not a good place to store wine. But the kitchen is a good place to drink wine since most parties hang out in the kitchen.
• The style of the rack is of course a matter of personal preference, affordability, and how it would fit in with the décor of the room. This is where it becomes fun to pick and choose. See all the types I describe above.
• Try to get a rack that has larger slots for each bottle. Some bottles like champagne may be too large for some of the smaller slotted racks.
• Use high quality wood for the wine racks to prevent warping from humidity and use racks that are open on the sides to allow air circulation.

Once you have your wine rack, all you need is the wine. So, time to go shopping.

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