By: Perry Sims
While many models and options exist for off-the-shelf wine racking systems, they still may be unsuitable for your cellar or collection's specific needs regardless of their other appealing features. If your space or taste extends beyond commercially available racking, consider a conversion project or a custom-built wine racking system.
Conversions and Custom Racking
There are many kits and instructions available to help you adapt the shelves of a bookcase, entertainment center, or china cabinet for wine storage. With a few, well-placed stops and scallops to properly support the bottles at their necks and near their bases, almost any shelf or cabinet can be customized for your table wine collection.
You may want to build your own racking from scratch. You may recognize that a custom-designed system is the only way to fit your particular space, capacity, or other special needs. Most custom racking systems utilize several wine storage options, and they may be made of materials that help the system blend into your existing decor.
Custom-built racks allow you to create a unique look for your collection and accommodate irregular spaces in either open-air locations or refrigerated wine cellar spaces. Few commercially available racks, even modular ones, fit the tight angles of an understairs cellar, for instance, or provide for odd-shaped bottles.
Whether you construct a custom racking system yourself or hire a professional to build it to your design, always use high-quality, decay-resistant wood, such as #1, clear-vertical, select-grade redwood or a similar lumber. Besides being stronger and more dimensionally stable than lower-grade materials-important considerations for a conditioned cellar environment-you'll find quality wood easier to work and finish; there will be fewer splits, and the wood accepts paint or stain more evenly than low-grade lumber.
The same rule holds true for other materials. Use only high-gauge, non-corrosive metal (preferably stainless or chrome-coated steel with a powder-coated or rubberized shield to keep it rust-free and help avoid scratching your labels) or ceramic tubes and containers that are clear of cracks, spalls, or chips.
From the book The Home Wine Cellar by Perry Sims et al. Copyright © 2004.. Reprinted by arrangement with Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, www.perseusbooks.com. All rights reserved.