Have you just bought a dozen expensive European reds, but have no suitable wine rack to store them? Are you a budding wine enthusiast and wondering how to choose the right wine rack for your growing wine collection?

Well-designed wine racks that keep wines from being moved too much could be the answer to your wine storage problems. By keeping bottles in a horizontal position, good wine racks allow the wine to keep the cork moist so that it doesn’t dry out and allow air into the bottle.

It was the Romans who developed better wine storage methods, keeping wine in barrels and bottles. But how do you solve the modern-day problem of finding space and the right wine rack for your wine collection?


Tips on how to choose the right wine rack for your wine collection

1. It is important to ask how many bottles you're going to store and when you're going to drink them.

- If you have a dozen bottles, ready for drinking within a month or two, then all you may need is a wine rack that sits on the floor in a closet somewhere on the north side of the house.

- If you are a serious collector and want to store your wines for more than a year to maybe ten years, then you may need modular wine racks that hold hundreds of bottles of wine. A cellar or converted cellar measuring less than 3 meters square will easily hold 100 dozen bottle bottles or wine.

2. The second most important question is where are you going to put your wine racks? The best place for wine storage is a cellar or cellar-like place that is dim, cool, and stable in temperature and movement, slightly humid and with few odors. The worst place would be the top of the fridge where you get vibration, constantly changing temperature, heat from the kitchen and constant exposure to light.

In most modern homes the cellar-like place can be a large closet, a walk-in wine pantry, space under a stairway, a specially constructed and insulated room with wine racks and wine cellar cooling systems, or even a converted corner of the garage.


3. What material do you want for your wine rack?

- If you want a modern look, you may opt for a stainless steel wine rack.

- If you want the traditional look of wood, then you can choose from inexpensive pine to more expensive oak, walnut, cherry, western red cedar or mahogany.

- If you want novel styles and shapes then you may opt for wrought iron which can be moulded into various shapes and powder-coated in various colors to match your home décor.

4. What style do you want?

- Do you have enough space for a freestanding wine rack?
- Do you want your wine racks incorporated into fitted cupboards?
- Do you want them hanging or mounted to the wall if space is limited?
- Or do you want stackable wine racks that allow you to increase your storage space when you need it?


5. Is your wine rack sturdy, stable and strong enough to bear the weight of your wine bottles? Is the wine rack made of durable and attractive material such as Philippine mahogany? Does the wine rack have full 13.5 inch-deep shelves for full bottle depth and added stability? Does the manufacturer provide at least one year warranty?

6. Other important questions to ask would be:

- Do you have enough space not only to store your wine bottles on their side but to be able to rotate them occasionally to preserve their flavour?

- Does your wine rack have slightly wider openings allowing storage for most Champagne and Burgundy style bottles, as well as standard size 750 ml bottles?

- Does it have angled front slats to avoid damage to labels and your hands?

- If you are buying a wine rack kit, are they pre-drilled and screw together using simple tools for easy assembly?

7. And last but not least what is your budget? Most wine rack stores - whether online or brick and mortar- stock a range of wine racks to suit all budget and tastes and some even include free shipping.

For less than $30, you can get a stackable metal wine rack with simple lines that hold up to 4 bottles. Or for less than $200, you could get a wooden wine rack in handsome mahogany, 6 columns wide and 9 rows high that will hold 60 bottles of your favorite wines. Take your pick.

Flor Buenaventura is a writer who has a great interest in furnishings for the home and garden. To see a great collection of resources related to wine and wine racks, please visit her Wine Rack and Wine Storage website.

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