The three Finest Wine Rack Critiques of 2024, Examined & Reviewed

My home got here with a built-in bar with closed storage for liquor and wine bottles. After just a few years of tightly packing the cupboard with fundamentals, I spotted we desperately wanted a wine rack. It was straightforward to know that we had vodka, tequila, and whiskey readily available, however bottles of Pinot and Syrah have been getting misplaced behind the cupboard—or worse, going unhealthy from improper storage. 

A seek for the perfect wine rack started with just a few questions on our wine assortment and the way a lot area we had. After sourcing a few of the most advisable wine storage choices, I introduced house 10 racks of various sizes, supplies, and capacities. Armed with our modest wine assortment, I put the wine racks to the check. Some match completely into the bar area; I  examined others within the fridge, on a wall, or free-standing within the eating space of our house. After a number of weeks of dwelling with and utilizing the wine racks, I discovered three of the perfect ones for storing bottles for on a regular basis events in addition to amassing. 

The Winners, at a Look

Made in Vermont from stable ash wooden, the J.K. Adams 12-Bottle Wine Rack may be configured for a lot of areas. The modular system comes collectively with out instruments and may develop alongside together with your assortment. Plus, it matches equally properly in a cupboard or on a countertop.

The Williams Sonoma Walnut Wine Rack has a basic design and may sit on the ground or countertop. Whereas it’s fairly lengthy, it does have a low profile. As with my prime decide, you’ll be able to add one other unit on prime of or beside it as your wine assortment grows. Produced from walnut-finished pine, it is usually straightforward to mud with out eradicating the bottles.

On the lookout for a starter wine rack or a present for newlyweds? The Crate & Barrel 11-Bottle Gold Wine Rack is sensible and beautiful. You need to use this 11-bottle wine horizontally or vertically, making it appropriate for each small and huge areas.  

The Assessments

• Meeting Take a look at: I learn via the directions for every wine rack. After gathering provides, I constructed the racks to find out how straightforward it was to place every of them collectively and the way lengthy meeting took. This check helped me to resolve which supplies have been splendid and to judge the durability of the racks. 
• Filling Take a look at: Armed with 10 bottles of various sizes and styles, I examined the capability of every rack to find out what number of commonplace bottles it may accommodate, in addition to its capacity to carry 1.5-liter and curved Prosecco bottles. This check additionally helped me assess every rack’s stability. 
• Eradicating and Rearranging Take a look at: Eradicating and reorganizing a few of the bottles on every rack gave me clear perception into ease of use. (For instance, may labels be clearly learn? Did all bottle sorts slot in every area of interest?). It additionally confirmed weak factors in stability. 

What We Realized

The Most Secure Racks Have been Additionally the Best to Assemble

The racks that have been the toughest to place collectively have been additionally a few of the least steady. For instance, the Wine Racks America Tabletop Wine Rack had complicated instructions and took the longest to assemble (over 22 minutes). It ended up being the least regular throughout filling and reorganizing. By comparability, the profitable wine rack from J.K. Adams had simply as many components, but it surely took only some minutes to assemble and required no instruments (and no swearing). 

Customizable Racks Have been Best for Rising Collections

Your assortment of bottles is bound to alter from yr to yr. It’s possible you’ll purchase a case of wine on a particular journey and savor it, otherwise you might need a busy vacation season of ingesting and gifting out of your cache. Having a wine rack that may increase or shrink together with your assortment—just like the J.Ok. Adams—is good. 

Area of interest Dimension Was as Vital as Total Capability 

Whereas I spent loads of time contemplating the footprint of every wine rack to make sure it may slot in a home bar or eating room, I used to be stunned by how a lot the niches of every wine rack impacted precise capability. This might be a trigger for concern in case your wine assortment consists of magnums or curved bottles (like those who maintain Prosecco or Champagne). The typical 3.75-inch opening gained’t maintain these bottles, particularly if the area of interest is closed on all 4 sides. All three of my profitable wine racks can accommodate extra than simply standard-size bottles. 

Bigger Wine Racks Weren’t Essentially Extra Secure 

Surprisingly, a lot of the larger-capacity wine racks have been much less steady, even with extra bottles loaded into them. The profitable exception, the JK Adams 12-Bottle Wine Rack, has a wider, horizontal base that helps hold it regular when you load and unload. 

The Standards: What to Search for in a Wine Rack 

When searching for a wine rack, contemplate your wine assortment and cupboard space. If you happen to hold only a few bottles readily available and have a small space, your wine rack wants can be completely different than a collector who would possibly think about using a basement closet as a wine cellar. 

Nonetheless, all wine racks ought to retailer bottles on their sides to maintain the corks moist and stop untimely ageing of the wine. Whereas area of interest dimension is vital—search for no less than 3.75 inches in every opening for ease of loading and label legibility—floor clearance can also be an element for preserving bottles recent. Racks that sit straight on the ground usually tend to expertise temperature fluctuations that influence the wine’s high quality. Wine specialists counsel no less than a two-inch clearance if the rack will sit straight on the ground. 

Lastly, contemplate supplies. Steel and completed woods are best to mud if you happen to’ll be pulling out of your assortment occasionally. Unfinished wooden may be painted, stained, or oiled to assist keep it, however it may be troublesome to mud over time. 

Our Favourite Wine Racks

What we favored: One of many best racks to place collectively, the J.Ok. Adams 12-Bottle Wine Rack offered essentially the most flexibility for rising your wine assortment. It is light-weight and durable. The huge niches and open-top design accommodated commonplace, curved, and magnum bottles with ease. You’ll be able to assemble this rack to suit tall, slender areas like cupboards, or construct it quick and lengthy to suit throughout the expanse of a bar. 

What we didn’t like: The J.Ok. Adams doesn’t win any aesthetic awards with its Lincoln Log-like look, however as a result of it’s plain wooden it might be stained or painted to match your decor. 

Key Specs

• Bottle capability: 12 
• Model: Freestanding
• Area of interest dimension: 4.25 inches 
• Supplies: Ash wooden 
• Dimensions: 11.25 x 12.5 x 3 inches when constructed as a 4×4 grid 

What we favored: This massive-capacity wine rack doesn’t include directions as a result of it’s so easy to construct. The huge base made the rack extremely sturdy even when absolutely loaded. The walnut-finished wooden was straightforward to wipe down when dusty. You should purchase multiples of this rack as your wine assortment grows, stacking them on prime of one another, as much as three racks excessive.

What we didn’t like: The items of the rack interlock with one another. Whereas the rack may be very steady as soon as set, it’s important to disassemble the items to maneuver the rack. You want ground area or a large counter to make use of this rack. 

Key Specs

• Bottle capability: 18 
• Model: Freestanding; can be utilized on a ground or counter
• Area of interest dimension: Open with 4-inch clearance between racks 
• Supplies: Walnut-finished pine 
• Dimensions: 11.5 x 35.75 x 11 inches

What we favored: Attractive and versatile, this wine rack was a winner within the seems to be division, because of its hexagonal niches and easy minimalist design. It is available in each a gold and a graphite end on an iron base, and you need to use it horizontally or vertically. The niches have been huge sufficient to accommodate commonplace or curved bottles. 

What we didn’t like: This rack can solely accommodate magnum bottles when used horizontally. When oriented vertically, it was just a little unsteady if bottles weren’t distributed evenly. 

Key Specs

• Bottle capability: 11, with an open design that may maintain three extra bottles when used horizontally  
• Model: Freestanding—splendid for a countertop 
• Area of interest dimension: 4.5 inches 
• Supplies: Gold- or graphite-finished iron 
• Dimensions: 17.25 x 6 x 11.75 inches

The Competitors

• Homevany Bamboo Wine Rack: A close to winner, this rack wasn’t troublesome to assemble, had nice capability, and was straightforward to scrub. In the end, it wasn’t a prime decide as a result of it has a set design that may’t develop together with your wine assortment or be reconfigured for different areas. 
• Sorbus Wall Mounted Wine Rack: This rack was properly designed and durable as soon as secured to the wall, but it surely requires an expansive wall to hold. It additionally has restricted capability. 
• PAG Arched Freestanding Floor Metal Wine Rack: That is the fashion of rack I think about when somebody says “wine rack,” however its tall, slender design was just a little unsteady when absolutely loaded, and it solely held standard-sized bottles. 
• Vino 8 Bottle Oak Wine Rack: I beloved the design of this rack but it surely had a small capability and solely held standard-size bottles. 
• Epicurean Matte Black Collapsible Wine Rack: This was one funky wine rack! It packs flat and has a wise design that doesn’t require any instruments to assemble. It didn’t make the record of winners due to its small capability (it held simply 5 bottles) and a few flexing throughout loading and unloading. 
• Wine Racks America Tabletop Wine Rack: Essentially the most troublesome rack to assemble, this one cracked after I was placing the ultimate screw in place. The closed design and small niches meant this wine rack may solely maintain standard-size bottles. 
• mDesign Stackable Refrigerator Wine Rack: The seek for a fridge rack continues, as this rack didn’t maintain bottles of bubbly very properly—which is very disappointing given that’s most of what it might maintain in lots of properties. 

FAQs 

What number of bottles can a wine rack maintain? 

I polled neighbors and different meals writers, and plainly most properties must retailer eight to 12 bottles at a time. Extra severe wine collectors want a rack with a capability of 18 to 24 bottles. Every of the profitable fashions holds no less than 12 bottles. 

Why do you have to retailer wine bottles on their sides?

Storing wine bottles on their sides means the wine can contact the cork and hold it moist. A dry cork could cause the wine to age prematurely—an vital consideration if you happen to plan on storing wine for a very long time. 

Is a wine fridge higher than a wine rack?

Wine fridges are perfect for collectors or wine connoisseurs who wish to hold sure vintages or varieties chilled. Fridges additionally require electrical energy and extra ground area, so finally the reply to this query is dependent upon your wine preferences and residential dimension. Wine racks work properly for many properties during which bottles can be consumed inside a yr. 

Why We’re the Consultants

• Meghan Splawn is a contract meals author and recipe developer who has labored in meals media since 2006. 
• Her work consists of 10 years within the check kitchen with Alton Brown, in addition to at websites like Merely Recipes, TheKitchn.com, and Critical Eats. 
• For this story, she spent two weeks testing wine racks in her house, which incorporates two children and an enormous, clumsy canine working previous the racks each day.