Every December the same thing happens. Someone brings a bottle, someone else brings two, and by Boxing Day there are eight bottles of red lined up along the kitchen worktop next to the kettle. A wine rack fixes that, and it doesn't need to be a big piece of furniture to do it.
Here's how to pick one that fits the bottles you keep and the space you have.
Start with how many bottles you keep
This is the question most people skip, and it's the one that decides everything else. Count what you have now, then add the bottles that turn up over Christmas. Most households land in one of four groups.
|
Bottles you keep |
What suits |
Examples from our range |
|---|---|---|
|
Up to 10 |
Worktop or wall rack |
vidaXL bamboo rack (6 bottles), HOMCOM wall mount rack (10 bottles) |
|
10 to 25 |
Small freestanding rack |
vidaXL solid mango (16 bottles), vidaXL solid pine 46.5x23x46.5 cm (20 bottles) |
|
25 to 60 |
Tall rack or stackable modules |
vidaXL cedar (48 bottles), stackable racks in 24, 36, 48 and 60 bottle sizes |
|
60 plus |
Full-height rack |
vidaXL solid pine 112.5x23x123.5 cm (120 bottles) |
Buy one size up from what you need today. Racks that start half empty fill up quicker than you'd expect, and a rack with spare slots looks tidier than one with bottles balanced on top.
Where to put a wine rack
Wine is happiest somewhere cool, dark and steady. That rules out a few spots that look tempting.
The space beside the oven is the worst offender. It gets hot every time you cook. A sunny windowsill and the wall above a radiator have the same problem. In a typical UK home, better options are an under-stairs cupboard, a north-facing dining room, a hallway alcove or the end of a utility room.
If you don't have a spare corner, go up the wall instead. The HOMCOM wall mount rack holds 10 bottles without taking any floor at all, which works in a narrow galley kitchen or a flat where every bit of floor already has a job. Our wine rack cabinets range covers wall, worktop and freestanding styles, so it's worth browsing by size first.
For a dining room, look at the wider piece of furniture too. A short rack can sit on top of a sideboard, and a taller one fits the gap beside a display cabinet. Our dining room furniture pages show what sits well together.
Wood, metal or plastic?
Each material suits a different kind of room, and each has a catch.
Solid wood is the most popular choice in our range, mostly from vidaXL. Pine is the everyday option, with sizes from a small 33x25x37 cm rack to the 120-bottle solid pine rack. Mango and teak have more grain and colour. The teak rack (40x30x80 cm, 8 bottles) needs no assembly, which is handy if you'd rather not spend an evening with an Allen key. Cedar sits in between, and the vidaXL cedar wine rack packs 48 bottles into eight tiers at 57.5 cm wide.
The catch with solid wood is that no two pieces match exactly. Grain and colour vary, so if you're pairing a rack with existing furniture, expect a close match rather than an exact one.
Metal racks suit a modern or industrial kitchen. There's a black wrought iron rack that holds 41 bottles at 45x36x120 cm, and a smaller aluminium rack in a flame shape for 9 bottles that looks more like a sculpture than storage. Metal won't swell or mark if a bottle drips, but it can scuff a wall or floor if it gets nudged around.
Stackable plastic (PP) racks are the practical option for a garage, cellar or utility room. vidaXL makes them in 24, 36, 48 and 60 bottle versions, and they're UV resistant. You can start small and stack another module later. They're not the prettiest thing in the house, so keep them out of the dining room.
And if you want something with character, the 77 cm telephone box wine rack is hand-finished in the UK in red lacquer. It's more of a talking point than a big-capacity store, and it wipes clean with a damp cloth.
Lay the bottles down
Most racks in our range store bottles on their side, and there's a reason for it. Lying flat keeps the wine in contact with the cork, which stops the cork drying out and letting air in. If you keep screw-top bottles, it matters less, but horizontal storage still saves space.
Some racks add a top board, such as the vidaXL pine rack at 72.5x25x111.5 cm. That flat surface is handy for glasses, a decanter or the bottle you've opened, and over Christmas it turns the rack into a small drinks station.
Fix tall racks to the wall
This is the bit people forget. A full rack is heavy, and a tall one can tip if a child pulls on it or a dog leans against it.
Check what comes in the box. The vidaXL pine rack at 46.5x23x46.5 cm includes a wall attachment. The six-tier pine rack at 67.5x25x87 cm recommends one, but it isn't included, so buy fixings that suit your wall before the rack arrives. Plasterboard needs different plugs from brick, so check which you've got.
As a rough rule, anything taller than it is deep should be fixed back, especially once it's full.
Building it
Many of the freestanding racks arrive flat-pack. The engineered wood diamond rack (51x18x52.5 cm) and the cedar rack both need assembling, while the teak rack arrives ready to use. Check the listing so you know which you're getting.
Build tall racks where they're going to live. Carrying a 123.5 cm pine rack through a doorway once it's built is harder than it sounds, and it's easy to knock a joint loose on the way.
One last thought for Christmas
If you're buying for someone else, the smaller racks make easy presents. The bamboo 6-bottle rack or the mango 16-bottle rack both fit on a worktop and don't need fixing to a wall. If you're buying for yourself, order early in December so it's built and filled before the guests arrive.
Delivery and returns footer
Shop wine racks at Bossy Cat
Delivery is free on all orders to UK mainland addresses and arrives in 3-5 working days, with no hidden fees. If you change your mind, you can return your order, but the return postage is paid by you.
