How to Make DIY Wine Rack: A Complete Guide with Ideas, Types, and Hacks

Most people consume wine within one or two days after purchasing it. They do not keep it in the house because this product can be bought anywhere and almost any time. Another category of citizens considers a drink as an investment, an interesting hobby, a memorable souvenir. In this case, you cannot do without a well-organized storage system. Some buy ready-made shelves, and others make a wine cabinet with their own hands.

Wine is one of the oldest drinks, as evidenced by archaeological finds made in Iran. Today the oldest representative of this species, suitable for consumption, is the Rüdesheimer Apostelwein of 1727, located in the German city of Bremen. However, not every type of weak alcohol improves with age, and even fewer varieties have a long lifespan.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Wine Racks

For short-term storage of wine, it is not necessary to install racks, shelves, and it is enough to find a cool place to make complete isolation from the light. And if you plan to withstand the drink for a long time, you will have to create optimal conditions. The ideal place is a wine cellar, and it is dark, quiet, cool. Moderate humidity is observed. That is, all the requirements for proper maintenance and maturation are met.

Not everyone has the opportunity to make an appropriate basement, especially for urban residents living in apartments of multi-story buildings. Of course, for the sake of one or two bottles, it makes no sense to buy an expensive cabinet or make it yourself, but you can’t do without a mini-bar to keep a collection. Such an organization of the storage system has several advantages, among which are:

• Aesthetics. A beautiful shelving unit can become a decorative element of the interior, complementing its integrity.
• Centralized structure. The shelves allow you to collect all the bottles in one place, provide easy access, and easy search for the desired variety.
• Compliance with the conditions for preservation. The rack provides the necessary lighting, horizontal position, complete rest. First of all, even bottles with a special UV-resistant coating are positioned in the dark. Secondly, the wine breathes through the cork, so the liquid must contact it, and this is possible only in a horizontal position. In addition, the wetted wood material of the blockage will not dry out. Thirdly, sudden movements accelerate chemical reactions, the process of alcohol maturation is disrupted.
• Demonstrative capabilities. Any owner of the collection will be able to show it to his guests.

The main disadvantage of the racks is their inability to store alcoholic beverages in compliance with all the rules and regulations. Yet this is not a cellar. Other disadvantages include:

• Temperature conditions. Each variety requires a certain temperature, at which the quality of the drink remains as long as possible.
• Ripening. In the house, alcohol will never ripen correctly. Here it can only be temporarily stored.
• Humidity. Only a specialized expensive wine cabinet can maintain the required humidity level. In other cases, this indicator will correspond to the conditions observed in the room.
• Fresh air. To avoid the absorption of extraneous odors by wine, you will have to make a powerful hood, think over the ventilation system, which entails additional costs.

Things to Know: Weak alcohol cannot be stored indefinitely. Each species has its own age threshold, after which development stops, the aging process begins. For example, table varieties reach the best qualities by 10 – 20 years, strong varieties (Madeira, Tokay) develop up to 50 years, sherry lives for over 160 years.

Types of Wine Racks and their Features

There are many ways to organize a wine storage system. To accommodate bottles, cabinets, racks, racks, shelves are used. Let us dwell on the last option in more detail. It is worth it because not all furniture products are suitable for placing alcohol, only hinged and corner models. Suspended structures fixed to the ceiling are not even worth considering.

There is a wide variety of shelves. By design, the following types are distinguished: consoles, with sidewalls, with a rear partition, single-tier, multi-tiered, combined by mutual arrangement – single and group. Position in space – vertical, horizontal, diagonal, oblique, and each of these types has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Vertical Wine Rack

The variety of vertical wine racks are huge. They allow you to store bottles vertically and horizontally, but the first method is rarely used. Instead, different models can be selected depending on available space. In one case, the container is laid perpendicular to the wall, with the neck or bottom outward, while others make it possible to lay wine drinks parallel with the partition.

Narrow shelves can be attached not only to the wall but also to cabinet furniture. The simplest product, located vertically, is a wooden bar or board, with round holes drilled through and through of a certain diameter. Bottlenecks are horizontally inserted into these grooves from two different sides. The result is a kind of tree with branches.

More complex designs have special sides, hooks, holders that prevent the wine from rolling. Unfortunately, one shelf does not allow storing a large number of glass containers. Therefore, they often use whole sets of products, arrange them in a group. The main disadvantage of this storage method is that one of the most important conditions is not met because the drink must be in complete darkness.

Horizontal Wine Rack

These are the most common models, and they are ordinary shelves placed horizontally. They have a rear baffle and sidewalls. At the front, they are equipped with a special side that does not allow the bottle to fall if it is accidentally hit. Most often, products are made of wood, but there are metal, plastic, glass options.

On such shelves, bottles are located only in an upright position. This is not a very good choice as wine with natural cork must be kept horizontally. Moreover, they are not intended for long-term storage of the drink. Such designs are suitable only for people who do not have a stagnant wine-making product. They use it regularly, constantly replenish their stock.

In principle, if we consider different options, you can find models in which the wine drink is stored correctly. These are shelves divided into compartments, either with holes in the sidewalls or directly in the carrier board, where the container is inserted at an angle with the neck down. The choice of a particular product largely depends on its purpose, storage time.

Diagonal Wine Rack

Diagonal shelves are also called cross shelves, as they resemble the letter X. The main advantage of the products is that they securely fix the bottles in one position, prevent them from rolling. They also allow you to store a large amount of wine for a fairly long time. This is the most successful form of shelves, which are equipped with niches for containers.

The structures are intended exclusively for the horizontal placement of containers. They are often made of wood, but there are also design models made from other materials. The number of cells can be different. Depending on their size, the bottles can be located either separately or lie on top of each other. To facilitate the search for a specific variety, each niche can be signed.

Inclined Wine Rack

Everyday experience confirms that objects adhere most reliably to horizontal surfaces. Therefore, at first glance, sloped shelves may seem unreliable, but they are not. They have special holders for bottles. Fix them well in a certain position. Usually, the container is located with the neck down, but there are models where the opposite placement of containers is provided.

Structures with a certain slope level are designed for long-term storage of wine. They are chosen for precious varieties. The simplest product that allows bottles to be tilted can be made from a planned board by drilling several holes. Still, multi-tiered shelves, especially those divided into separate niches, look much better and allow you to store a larger amount of alcoholic beverages.

Manufacturing Material

For long-term storage of wine, it is not necessary to buy a special expensive wine cabinet that can maintain the required level of temperature and humidity. With the right place, all conditions are met. Even ordinary shelves and racks will help preserve the quality of products. In addition, they have a simple design so that you can make pieces of furniture yourself.

In the industrial production of devices, wood, plastic, metal, glass are used. In addition, leather and fabric can be used for decoration. But true wine connoisseurs choose only wooden products. Wood is available, easy to process, and an environmentally friendly product. Constructions made from this type of raw material serve for quite a long time and are suitable for many interior styles of a private house or apartment.

The metal stands look pretty rough, except for the forged models. It is difficult to work with these raw materials; it is impossible to produce products without special equipment at home. But if you connect imagination, then products for storing bottles can generally be made from any available means, such as metal, plastic pipes, chipboard, fiberboard, wooden barrels, boxes, and other materials.

Wine Rack Styles

Wine storage shelves have a simple but practical design. They can be made from different materials, differ in the original design, include additional decorative elements, which allows them to be used in rooms decorated in different styles. For one direction, rough wooden pieces of furniture without any decor are suitable. For another, beautifully designed metal products.

For Provence style, only shelves made of wood or its derivatives are suitable. Furniture items should be aged. They can be painted white, supplemented with openwork forged inserts. Glass and wood structures with the correct geometry, which are located strictly in a horizontal position, are characteristic of minimalism. The surface must be flat and smooth.

For the direction of the loft, furniture products can be made of wood, transparent or colored glass, chrome steel. Shabby, rough-cut products will fit well. Solid surfaces made of natural oak with metal side walls look great. For Art Nouveau, shelves made of hard and valuable wood are used. Characterized by bizarre shapes with smooth lines and sophisticated carvings.

Where to Install Wine Racks

For owners of private houses, it is best to build a wine cellar. If this is not possible, then an attic can be equipped for storing wine. Unfortunately, there are no windows under the roof in most residential buildings, and it is constantly dark here. So the main thing is to provide the required level of air temperature in the range of 10 – 15 degrees, and if this does not work out, you will have to consider other options.

Inside the house, you can install a wine rack or shelves almost anywhere. For owners of two-story buildings, you can opt for space under the stairs. This will save usable space. However, the kitchen is not suitable for long-term drinking. The temperature regime is constantly changing here. In addition, there are many foreign odors that an alcoholic drink can absorb through a wooden cork.

The best place in the apartment is a study, a living room. When choosing a zone, you should pay attention to the location of the window. The bottles with alcohol should not be exposed to sunlight because even glass with special filters does not completely block ultraviolet rays. It is also necessary to take care of the absence of vibrations. Therefore, only load-bearing walls should be selected; for cabinets and racks and even solid base.

How to Make a Do-it-Yourself Wine Cabinet

A wine storage cabinet can be made independently or at home. This will require minimal carpentry skills and a set of tools. First of all, you need to decide on the location of its installation and the room’s dimensions. The listed parameters directly affect the dimensions of the planned product. For a small room, preference should be given to small narrow pieces of furniture.

When drawing up a project, you should think about what materials will be used and decide on the principle of organizing the internal space. It is worth it because diagonal shelves are the most difficult to make, and not everyone can do it the first time. For beginners, it is better to choose simpler designs. For example, consider a master class on making a wooden cabinet.

Required Tools and Materials

Before starting work, it is necessary to select and prepare raw materials. The wood for the manufacture of furniture must be flat. The presence of knots, mechanical damage on the surface is unacceptable. Any deformation will reduce the service life of the manufactured product. Also, for events, you will need the following set of tools and materials:

• pencil, tape measure, construction square, level
• hammer, pliers
• saw, electric drill, screwdriver
• jigsaw, chisel, sander
• planed boards with a thickness of at least 20 mm
• wooden beams 30×30
• plywood sheets
• corners for connecting perpendicular elements
• colorless varnish, paint
• nails, screws

Drawing and Cutting Diagram

You cannot do without building an assembly drawing, indicating in it the exact dimensions of all parts. Then, based on the project documentation, where the components for cutting are calculated on the diagrams drawn to scale, it is possible to calculate the amount of wood material, fasteners, functional and front fittings required for work.

Not many people will be able to develop a project on their own. This will require specific knowledge. But the problem can be solved. To do this, you should use ready-made sketches present in the literature on winemaking or downloading them online. The main thing is to choose the correct cabinet design, commensurate in size with the room’s dimensions.

Assembly and Installation of the Cabinet

Based on the existing drawing, it is necessary to prepare all the main parts of the cabinet. Initially, you will need to saw the beams and boards according to the dimensions indicated in the diagram, then grind them, treat them with an antiseptic composition. Further, a frame is assembled from a bar, and all wooden parts are connected using self-tapping screws. Finally, for the reliability of fastening, perpendicular elements at the joints are fixed with metal corners.

On the sides, the finished frame is sheathed with boards. A rear partition is cut from a sheet of plywood and attached to the overall structure. For the manufacture of shelves, you can use both wood and sheets of chipboard, fiberboard. Their width and depth must exactly match the same internal parameters of the product. It is vital to respect the size of the individual cells, and they must correspond to the bottle so that it is clearly fixed and cannot roll.

To build separate niches for each container, it is necessary to make small cuts at right angles on the horizontal shelf. Next, vertical elements are inserted into these grooves and rigidly fixed with glue and self-tapping screws. At the final stage, doors and fittings are attached. After assembling the furniture, the surfaces are varnished, installed in a pre-selected place. The subfloor must be firm and level.

Laminated MDF Living Room Wine Cabinet

A cabinet made of wood material will be a great addition to any living room interior. The decorativeness of HDF sheets lies in the special technology of their manufacture. First, several layers of varnish of different colors are applied to them. Then they use special equipment, achieve a pattern on the surface that imitates the structure of various types of wood. This approach makes the material for the wine cabinet noble and refined.

A piece of furniture in the living room can be of any size and configuration. More often, this is an outdoor option. Inside the structure, there is space for several wine bottles, a compartment for glasses and cups, a drawer for openers, and other accessories. Two doors with translucent decorative inserts cover this compartment. The lower open tier can be used simply as a shelf.

How to Make a Built-in Storage Under the Countertop

Such cabinets are produced without external edging. They can be placed in any room without disturbing the inner harmony of the room. It will look great in the kitchen under the countertop, in the bar counter. It is better to make it strictly according to individual sizes since the manufacturer can change the parameters of the products. Standard cabinets have transparent anti-UV coated doors. They do not need additional cladding.

The only drawback of cabinets under the countertop is the lack of volume. When ordering a factory model, please note that the capacity is calculated, excluding the shelves. In reality, the number of bottles that the structure can accommodate must be reduced by a third.

Any changes to the built-in kitchen furniture will help to increase the comfort and efficiency of work in the room. For example, kitchen cabinets can be easily converted into wine cabinets, making the interior more comfortable and attractive. You can also use the lower empty part of the island-pedestal.

Wine Rack with Glass Holder

The supporting structure of the glass shelf can be made of a wide variety of materials. Practical roof rails are made of brass, steel, plastic, wood. Simple hanging options can be made by yourself. To work, you will need the following tools:

• Several wooden slats
• One wooden block
• Glue gun
• Special tool for cutting wood
• Universal drill
• Cutting discs
• Screwdriver
• Dowels and screws for connecting elements
• Metal chain

A wooden block is sawn into several parts according to the scheme following the proportions. All edges are carefully sanded with a tool with special attachments. On the two prepared elements, mark the location of the rails and recesses for the bottles. Then, using a glue gun, fix the crossbeams and cut the cuts. At the bottom of the hanging shelf, a metal grate is installed for hanging glasses.

Table with Wine Rack

At home, wine can be stored in a variety of places. Of course, the best option is a dedicated refrigerator. But, if it is not possible to install such a technique, you can make a beautiful table for the living room with special holes for bottles.

You can make a simple piece of furniture according to a standard plan or give it originality by connecting imagination. For example, a round table with side compartments for wine looks interesting. Circular strips are nailed to the bottom of the tabletop, and holes are made in them for the size of the bottles. The legs can be made straight or create a fancy design.

Interesting Ideas for Creating Wine Racks

The home mini-bar is represented by compact furniture stylized as familiar household items. When creating such shelves, you can use any original idea. These can be transformer bars that turn into miniature racks, tables on wheels that move to any corner of the room. When ordering wine storage furniture, it is important to consider the style of the room and the material of the item.

From Pallets

The loft-style wine rack will fit perfectly into any minimalist interior. It is easy to make such an item yourself from several planks of a simple pallet. We disassemble the pallet into parts and cut out the parts of the desired size. You will need to prepare two identical boards for the sidewalls, four elements for the bottom and outer walls, two small bars for the connection. A grinder, a screwdriver, and a jigsaw are used as tools.

First of all, all the workpieces from the pallet must be well sanded so as not to plant a splinter during the operation of the shelf. Then we make markings and cut out the recesses for the legs of the glasses. Finally, we mark the location of the shelf on the wall by level and fix it with dowels or self-tapping screws.

From Old Wood and Old Cast Iron Bolts / Nails

A great idea for those who do not want to spend a lot of time and effort making a stand for wine bottles. You can add originality to the design by using creative metal holders. Large cast-iron nails will look good on an old wooden board.

You will need one wide board for the rack and five small boards for the shelves. The blanks are easy to make yourself, simply by sawing the wood into the required number of pieces by size. Next, we drive nails into the shelves along the edges of each element and assemble the structure using self-tapping screws and a glue gun. Finally, each floor can be decorated with an original plaque with wine, name, harvest year.

From Cast-Iron Pipes in the Loft-Style

You can make an original industrial-style wine shelf out of cast-iron pipes alone or use the option of an intricate weaving of metal with wood. Making the product requires simple plumbing pipes, a few fittings, and a piece of wood. The wood will act as a support, and the pipes will be the retaining elements.

The product can be painted in any color, given a decorative effect using bronze, silver paint, varnished. A large structure made of old metal pipes can be installed in the basement.

Wine Rack Made of Polyurethane Pipes

The easiest way to make an original shelf. But such a design will not differ in aesthetics and will not fit into every interior. For manufacturing, PVC pipes of a suitable diameter are required. The inner-circle should be slightly larger than the diameter of the wine bottle. You can place your homemade shelf on an old bedside table or a plywood base.

First, you need to refine the old cabinet. We process all sections with sandpaper, paint in any color, or simply varnish. Then it would be best if you cut pieces of pipes of suitable size with a special hacksaw. Next, we process the resulting cells with acetone and paint them in the desired color. Finally, we fasten all the elements with rope, tape, or glue.

Plywood Wine Rack

A standard-sized six-bottle rack is easy to make from a sheet of plywood and neon rope. The simplicity of design and compactness allows you to make an item very quickly. The small size of the rack allows it to fit perfectly into even the smallest space. It is easy to place it on a small table in the refrigerator. The step-by-step execution of work on the manufacture of the original item according to the instructions is as follows:

• Determine the location of each bottle, mark the center
• We drill six holes in each part
• We clean the corners and edges of the future rack from burrs
• Determine the location of the hinges
• We connect two sheets using loops
• In each bottom corner, we make a hole and thread a neon thread.

Electric Wine Storage Cabinets: Pros and Cons

The main function of electric wine cabinets is to maintain the optimum temperature for each bottle of wine placed in it. It must also prevent air from entering the container, which can cause oxidation. Inexpensive models, the humidity control function is provided. This allows you to set the optimal values ​​that will not allow the cork to dry out.

The pluses of storing wine in a special device also include a filter for air purification. This will eliminate the appearance of extraneous odors. In addition, special compressors minimize vibrations to prevent shaking and sludge. The only negative side is the high price of even the simplest model.

How to Choose a Ready-Made Wine Rack in a Store

To store wine, specially organized racks are needed. There are many different designs, so there are some guidelines to consider when purchasing a particular shelf. First, you need to determine what exactly you need a wine rack for. If the collection of wine will mature in the kitchen, you need to choose a full-fledged closed cabinet. An open counter is suitable as an interior decoration.

The type of construction is chosen based on personal preference. For example, the location of the bottle can be vertical, horizontal, inclined, diagonal, presentation. Based on the main types, looking at photos and videos of popular models on the Internet, you can easily choose a particular rack in the store.

Rules and Requirements for Wine Storage

The organoleptic qualities of a wine depend on many factors, one of which is proper storage. It is unlikely that it will be possible to create an ideal microclimate in a house or apartment, but it is still possible to maintain a certain temperature. If the wine rack is located in the kitchen, it is better to place it away from the radiator and stove. It is not recommended to keep mini wine racks in the refrigerator, as cooling will be excessive.

It is also important to adhere to acceptable moisture levels. Increasing the parameter above 70% will lead to mold on the cork. To not spoil the drinks on the rack, they must be placed in a dark place.

Conclusion

Every connoisseur of a sunny drink knows how important it is to preserve its taste. To do this, they decide to make shelves and wine boxes with their own hands. Such designs can be varied and allow you to position the bottles in a house or city apartment correctly.