Unique Wine Racking Styles You May Love

Are you in the market for a wine storage rack?

You definitely have options. Wine storage racks come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be found to meet any budget. In this guide, we’ll help you whittle down which wine racking style is right for your needs.

Why Do You Need Wine Storage Racks?

Before we dive into the different types of wine storage racks, let’s discuss why you should consider investing in one.

Wine storage racks offer both practical and aesthetic uses.

On the practical side, wine racks allow you to properly store your wine. When you invest a sizable amount of money into your wine collection, you definitely want to take care in how you store it. If not stored properly, your wine is vulnerable to sunlight exposure which can threaten the integrity of the wine. Improper storage can also result in accidental breaks.

From the aesthetic point of view, wine racks can add beauty and flair to your space, whether it’s your cellar, your living room, or your dining room table. Your wine rack can also provide another outlet for displaying your unique personality in your home.

Here are additional reasons to use a wine rack for storing your wine:

Efficient Use of Space

Keeping wine in the boxes that they came from can be convenient, however boxes can take up a lot of space. If you’re running out of floor space, you can use racks to store your wine both vertically and horizontally.

Improve Accessibility

Another con for storing wine in the boxes they came in? It can be difficult to locate and then retrieve one wine without disturbing the others. However, with a rack, all of the wines are stored separately.

Properly Age

You can use storage racks to properly store your corked wine. Corked bottles should always be stored on their sides to ensure that the cork doesn’t dry out and allow air to seep in.

Improve the Look of Your Storage

Wine bottles can be used as a tasteful addition for your home or cellar. In addition to the wine bottles themselves, your storage racks can also make a decorative statement.

Unique Wine Racking Styles

Wine racks can be freestanding, hanging, tabletop, wall shelves, or moveable carts. Here’s a visual run down of the most popular options:

Display Rack

This type of rack allows you to display wine bottles

Full Rack

Each bottle in its own individual cell, can be divided into rows or columns

Box Bin

Store entire wine boxes into larger cubbies

Star Shape Bin

A decorative take on the traditional full rack design that allows you to store more bottles

How to Choose the Right Wine Rack for Your Space

Not sure which wine rack makes sense? Here are a few questions to help you identify which wine storage solution to choose:

How Many Bottles Do You Need to Store?

The type of rack you choose will depend on how many bottles you plan to store now and in the future. For a smaller collection, you can choose a shelf, tabletop, or countertop storage. But if you plan to have a larger collection that will continue to grow, it makes sense to invest in a larger storage option that gives you room to expand, such as a full rack.

What's the Size of Your Wine Cellar?

If you have a wine cellar (or plan to create one in the near future), you need storage that can fit the exact dimensions of your space. Most cellars are purposefully small in order to control temperature and humidity. If you’d like to maximize the space in your cellar, consider going vertically with your racks so that you can take advantage of the wall space.

What Material Do You Prefer?

Do you like the earthy, traditional vibe that wood offers, or do you prefer the more modern look of metal?

What Style of Wine Rack Do You Like?

Do you like a modest, sleek, or straightforward design or would you like a rack design that stands out by itself? To answer this question, look at the rest of your home. It can tell you what style you already love. Don’t feel like you should deviate from your personal style with your wine storage. Whether you love the look of old world, industrial, farmhouse, transitional, mid-century modern or some other design style, your wine storage rack can reflect that same style.

How Much Would You Like to Spend on Wine Racks?

What is your budget for wine racks? This can determine the material of the rack itself. For example, if you like wood but don’t want to spend a lot on mahogany (a preferred material), you can shop for cheaper wood alternatives like pine.

What Types of Wine Bottles Will You Store?

In addition to all of the above questions, you also need to identify which types of wine bottles you’ll store. There are over a dozen different wine bottle sizes. You may be most familiar with the standard 750 ml size bottle, but wine bottles actually range in size from 187.5 mL to a whopping (and possibly mythical) 30 L. If you plan to store larger bottles, you’ll need special storage to accommodate these bottles.

Here's a rundown of the different bottle sizes and their proper names:

Interesting note: Non-conventional wine bottle sizes are named after Biblical kings.

Split (a.k.a. piccolo or quarter bottles)

• 187.5 mL
• Equal to 0.25 bottle
• Holds one 6 oz serving
• Measures 7.5 inches tall and 2.5 inches wide
• Usually used for sparkling wine

Demi (a.k.a. half bottles)

• 375 mL
• Equal to 0.5 bottle
• Holds two 6 oz servings
• Measures 9.5 inches tall and 2.25 inches wide
• Usually used for sweet or dessert wines

Standard

• 750 mL
• Equal to 1 bottle
• Holds four 6 oz servings
• Measures between 11.5 to 13 inches tall and 3 inches wide at the base
• Used as the standard for most wine

Magnum

• 1.5 L
• Equal to 2 bottles
• Holds eight 6 oz servings
• Measures 14 inches tall and 4 inches wide at the base, but may have different shapes depending on the type of wine
• Used for parties because these bottles hold a lot but are still easy to pour

Double Magnum

• 3 L
• Equal to 4 bottles
• Holds 16 6 oz servings
• Measures 18 inches tall and 5 inches wide
• Used for sparkling wines

Jeroboam

• 4.5 L
• Equal to 6 bottles
• Holds 25 6 oz servings
• Measures 18 inches tall and 5 inches wide
• Used for non-sparkling wines
• Named after the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel

Rehoboam

• 4.5 L
• Equal to 6 standard bottles
• Holds 16 6-oz servings
• Measures 19.5 inches tall and 5 inches in diameter
• Used for Champagne and sparkling wine
• Named after Solomon's son and David's grandson

Imperial (a.k.a. Methuselah)

• 6 L
• Equal to 8 bottles
• Holds 34 6-oz servings
• Measures 22 inches tall
• Used for sparkling and non-sparkling wine
• Methuselah was recorded as the oldest person in the Bible

Salmanazar

• 9 L
• Equal to 12 bottles, or one case of wine
• Holds 50 6-oz servings
• Measures 24 inches tall
• Used for both sparkling and non-sparkling wines
• Named after an Assyrian king

Balthazar

• 12 L
• Equal to 16 bottles
• Holds 67 6-oz servings
• Measures 28 inches tall
• Named after one of the three wise men, or Magi, who visited the baby Jesus

Nebuchadnezzar

• 15 L
• Equal to 20 bottles
• Holds 90 6-oz servings
• Measures 31 inches tall
• Named after the Babylonian king in the Book of Daniel

Melchior

• 18 L
• Equal to 24 standard bottles
• Holds 101 6-oz servings
• Measures 3 feet tall
• Holds sparkling and non-sparkling wines
• Named after one of the Magi kings

Solomon

• 20 L
• Equal to 26 standard bottles
• Holds 113 6-oz servings
• Measures over 3 feet
• Named after the wise king and son of David

Sovereign

• 25 L
• Equal to 33.3 standard bottles
• Holds 141 6-oz servings
• Used for decoration

Primat (a.k.a. Goliath)

• 27 L
• Equal to 36 standard bottles
• Holds 152 6-oz servings
• Used for Champagne or Bordeaux

Melchizedek (a.k.a. Midas)

• 30 L
• Equal to 40 standard bottles
• Holds 169 6-oz servings
• Very rare
• Named after a Biblical king in Genesis

It's rare to find the largest format bottles, but they do exist. And, if you're ever interested in adding one of these unique bottles to your collection, you'll need to be prepared to store it properly in your cellar. However, most collectors will only need storage to accommodate the most common types of wine bottles, such as standard and magnum.

Ready to Start Shopping for Wine Racks?

We have a great collection of wine racks at Wine Cellar HQ.

For a modern aesthetic, shop our metal wine rack collection here.

And if you're looking for a more traditional vibe, shop our wood wine racks here.