Chris S. writes ... I don't really have a cellar, just a wood rack I made for the basement. These pictures are from before it was stained and hopefully include enough detail to be duplicated if anyone has the inclination. Picture 1 ... Picture 2 ... Picture 3

Another reader writes ... Don't know if someone posted this already, but a good way to resolve the "diamonds" vs. individual bottle storage dilema is to build your cellar for bin storage (diamonds), and drop in 4" PVC pipe sections where you want to keep your "orphans". When the orphans are gone, pull out the PVC and you revert to bin storage of a case!

Mike D. writes ... I cannot afford fancy temperature/humidity control, and besides I'd rather spend the money on wine, so my wine is racked in stacked clay tiles, originally intended to be weeping tiles in construction. The tiles are octagon in shape (outside) 3/4" thick kiln baked clay, (like bricks) about 14" in length with an inside round hole end-to-end about 4.5" in diameter, which will easily accept most standard wine bottles. They are simply stacked from the floor up, with the front end of the bottom row raised on a piece of 2X2" wood ripped from a 2X4 to give them a slope so the bottles will slide in easily and not slide out without assistance. It still allows the corks to contact the wine to aid in keeping them wet and tight. The tiles do take up space, and I could probably increase the in-rack storage capacity of the room by 50% with conventional racking, however I have never been able to get the cellar full as it is, due to budgetary restraints, so it has never been an issue for me. The reason for the use of the tiles, besides the fact that I think it makes a very attractive display, is that they provide a considerable amount of thermal mass. This means that even though my cellar temp is quite constant, and the temperature change from winter to summer is gradual, in order for the wine to change temperature, the tile it is resting in has to change first, thus keeping any temperature changes extremely gradual and gentle. Due to the weight (each tile weighs about 5 lbs.) they also eliminate vibration, though that is also not an issue in my circumstances. It also means that I can go into the wine cellar during the winter for example, when the room temp averages 55F, with a small portable heater, and get the room warm enough to enjoy being in there without danger of warming the wine.

Gerald S. ( gerald@slawecki.com ) sent it a great write up on building case sized racking .... Click here to view his article

I always found that the wine racks sold in shops or supermarkets are either ugly or overpriced so I decided to build them. I bought a year ago an old rural house (early 19th century) with a stone made underground cellar, underneath the barn.

Luckily the previous owner left a lot of wood, including doors. So here is a solution which I find:
- very cheap
- couldn't be easier to make
- takes little room

NOTE: this is not for wine you want to keep 10 years or more, but rather for wine to drink pretty soon (in the next few years) since the bottles don't lay on their body but are held by their neck (I don't know what effect this might have on the bottle over a long period of time)

* I took one cupboard door in plain wood about 30cmx130cm
* with a trepan saw (also called bell saw!) fitted on a powerdrill I made 110 holes of 3cm diameter
* these holes are aligned together and regularly spaced (I don't remember but I think there is about 3cm between each hole) to fit different bottle shapes: Bordeaux, Bourgogne.
* I fitted a wooden stand to tip up the plank at 45 degree in its length (i.e. 5 holes vertically by 22 holes horizontally)

Then I lay the bottles by simply inserting their neck into the holes. After a first load of bottles I quickly realized that the bottles at the bottom of the plank, were making the plank tip over, so I extended the stand by fitting wooden stick, horizontally, at the bottom of the stand.

Here is a drawing what it looks like:

Picture of Cellar ... Detail of Racking

Note: If you are contemplating building a rack of this sort, keep in mind the following details when designing it:

1. The horizontal strips which support the necks of the bottles must be narrow enough so that the space between any two of the strips can accomodate the diameter of the largest bottles you may wish to store. The holes in these forward strips can be drilled with any appropriately sized Forstner bit. Again, tack several layers of 1/4 inch plywood together, drill the holes, then rip the strips lengthwise through the centerline of the holes.

2. The rear horizontal strips must be wider than the forward ones, since the semicircles which support the wider portion of the bottle have a much larger radius. I cut these holes with a flycutter in a drill press, and as above,tacked several 1/4" layers of plywood together before cutting the holes.

3. Assembly is very simple...I used 1" drywall screws to secure the strips to the separating frames, which are composed of 2 by 2 lumber with cross pieces fully housed in simple dadoes. These separating frames resemble the letter H with two crossbars placed several inches from the top and bottom of the uprights.

4. A shelf can be nailed or screwed to the top of the rack, and for additional security, the rear uprights can be screwed to a wall using wooden blocks to space the rack several inches from the wall.

Use 1x2 strapping for the laterals. Space the verticals about "12 bottles" apart. Make sure the slats in the back are a little lower than the front ones, so as the bottles are at the right tilt. Also set the horizontal slats a little off true so that the bottles tend to gravitate to one end as the row empties out.

The non-finished wood is cheaper and adds to that "rough"look in the storage area [cellar]. Advantage of this system is 1] it's cheap 2] can be customized as to height & length, 3] can be added to, without looking "different". Use the copper or brass screws to put it together for extra "looks". anchor the rear straps to the wall so as the whole issue doesn't't tip. [You could get shouted at for this]. Make sure to pre-punch the screw holes so that you don't split the wood.

Not many people are aware that by far, the most efficient and safest way of storing wine is by nesting the bottles. That is, alternating the direction. Try the following experiment. Lay two burgundy bottles side by side on the floor, facing in the same direction with the body of the bottles touching one another. Then separate those bottles by positioning another with the neck between them, facing the other way. You will find that the bottle facing the opposite way when pushed in will fit perfectly between the two. If you have solid sides on the outside body of the two bottles facing you (this could be done with a couple of books, however, the sides must be long enough for the total length of the bottles in both directions). You can then alternate the bottles so that the second row of these three bottles is now in the opposite direction and the stack is quite solid.

This can be built up with additional levels as long as there are supporting sides. You can try the same experiment with 3, 4 or 5 bottles facing you. Bins can be consructed of 3/4" plywood based on the width of a layer of bottles and a back can be tacked on to increase the strength of the unit. You can use a trial and error with different widths of bins.

Ingredients:

- 2 49.5 inch long 12x1 boards
- 2 48.0 inch long 12x1 boards
- 3 48.0 inch long 6x1 boards
- 1 3/8 inch thick, 4 foot square piece of plywood
- wire garden fencing with a 4 inch mesh (squares created by the mesh are 4 inches square)
- metal brackets (1.5 inch, right angle) and screws
- (optional) larger brackets (3.5 inch) and screws
- staple gun and staples

Procedure:

use the brackets to connect the 12x1 boards into a frame, with the 49.5 inch boards on top and bottom and the 48 inch on the sides -- this should leave a 4 foot square space in the middle.

Use more anglebrackets to connect the 6x1 boards vertically inside this frame to divide it into 4 equal sections. The centers of these 3 boards should be 12 inches from their neighbors. NOTE: when putting the 12x1 boards together in a frame, its a good idea to put them around the plywood to make sure it will fit when the time comes to attach it.

Cut a 4 foot square section of the wire garden fencing and use the staple gun to connect these to the front and back edges of the 6x1 boards and the inside of the 12x1 boards around the outside.

Use still more angle brackets to connect the 4'x4' plywood to the back of the frame, so that it is flush with the 12x1 boards. Use the larger angle brackets to connect the plywood to the 6x1 boards, to keep it from warping (my basement is fairly humid in the summer).

Load up with wine bottles.

I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have if this is unclear.

Start with 2 1x8s 8 ft long and 24 1x3s 4 ft long. Stand the 1/8s on edge (long deminsion horizontal) 4 feet apart. Attach one 1x3 to each 1x8 so that it is flush with one end of the 1x8s. Approximately as shown below.

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Continue attaching 11 more 1x3s spaced 4 in. apart. Then turn the assembly over and attach the remaining 12 1x3s to the other side. The first 1x3 should be placed about 1 1/2 in fron the edge to support the neck of the bottle. When complete, stand the rack up an attach to wall of otherwise support and fill with wine bottles. I have mine located in a cellar so I stand them up and position them between floor joists, secured with a couple of screws at each end.

This rack holds about 14 bottles on each of the 12 racks. I have 4 so far and could use a few more. This is a relatively simple and inexpensive rack, but it really looks best when completely filled with wine bottles!