10 Sep Guide To Choosing The Perfect Wine Racks
Once you start collecting wine, you’ll need to find a suitable place to store all your bottles. Some people begin with a wine refrigerator or cooler but soon discover that it isn’t the best wine storage solution. The refrigerator or cooler can’t hold their growing wine collection, and the next logical step is to build a custom wine cellar with wine racks.
Tips to Select Suitable Wine Racks
Most people planning to build a wine cellar aren’t sure about the types of racks they should opt for. It’s best to contact custom wine cellar designers like us for information on products and materials you can use in these installations. Here are some pointers on selecting wine racks:
Location
The wine rack location matters because you need to select racks of the right size and shape. This aspect becomes important when you buy ready/ready to assemble racks. However, if you are getting the racks custom-designed by cellar experts, they will design the rack perfectly, ensuring that the features sit perfectly in the available space.
Storage Capacity
This is another relevant aspect to consider during wine rack selection. Determine how much wine you will store at any given point. If you are a serious collector and plan to keep your whites and reds for the long term, you might have to factor in storage for a more significant number of bottles.
The amount of wine you want to store and the types of wine you prefer are other things to consider. Some wine bottles won’t fit in standard wine rack openings. Magnums are far larger than Bordeaux bottles, and champagne bottles typically need larger openings.
Some chardonnays, pinot noirs, and burgundies also need slightly larger wine rack openings than the standard 3 ½” space. It’s best to include rack system spaces for magnums and splits. Many people also buy half bottles, and having split racks helps save space while storing these bottles.
Materials
Wood is widely used in wine rack construction. However, metal is another commonly used material in some wine rack systems. Depending on your preferences and the aesthetic you want to create, you can opt for custom-designed wine cellar racks that securely hold the bottles in place.
Heavy-duty metal wine racks with nested bottle holders are a great option as you can store the bottles on their sides without worrying about them sliding around. Hardwoods such as mahogany and redwood are solid enough to bear the weight of heavy bottles and will last for decades.
Cedar is another wood species option, but this aromatic wood can affect the wine condition. It’s why we don’t recommend its use in wine rack construction. You must place the racks on stable ground and bolt taller units to the walls to ensure they don’t topple over when full.
Wine Rack Construction
Always opt for high-grade racks with good workmanship. If you purchase ready-to-use racks, check whether the company has used staples to join the bottle holders to the vertical pieces. These types of joints can result in buckling of the shelves. There are certain key construction areas to focus on while selecting wine racks.
Wooden racks will be stable and stronger if all the horizontal stabiliser bars and bottle holders are fitted to the vertical bars using screws. The thickness of the wood is another factor to keep in view. If you plan to get a new custom wine cellar, you would want the structure and racks to last longer. Therefore, it’s best to opt for racks built using ¾” wood rather than ½ “.
Ensure that the contractor glues and screws the racks together as that will ensure maximum stability. Always invest in superior quality wood wine racks (which will be more expensive than average quality ones) as they will not fall apart like cheaply constructed rack systems. Some homeowners like the look of diamond-shaped wine racking systems. While this shape looks stylish, it doesn’t lend itself well to round-shouldered bottles.
For more information about the perfect wine racks and our custom wine cellar solutions, call Signature Cellars at this number – 1300 570 636. Our team is here to help you design the perfect custom wine cellar for your needs.
Thanks for reading,
Neil Smallman
Signature Cellars
1300 570 636
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