We drink a lot of wine. And, we drink a good amount of it at home. That means we are always struggling to figure out the best wine storage furniture for our home. We’ve considered, and purchased, wooden wine racks and metal wine racks, of all sizes and all price points. In this post, we round up some of the best wine rack furniture options, including what to take into consideration before you purchase your next home wine storage solution. Because the best wine racks for the home are really the ones that are the best for your wine rack needs.
Best Wine Racks Buying Guide
In this wine product buying guide, we will be focusing on various types of wooden wine racks and what to take into consideration when making your purchase. If you have specific questions about buying a wine rack, feel free to use the table of contents above to find the answer to your specific question. If I don’t answer your question here, then feel free to ask a question in the comments below and I will try to respond as soon as possible.
If you are short on time or are just looking for quick inspiration, check out the table below for our recommended wine racks. Each of these racks can be purchased on Amazon. We recommend Amazon for purchasing wine storage racks. Amazon is such a great place to buy some of the best wine racks. I love the ease of purchasing on Amazon because you get really fast delivery (if you are a Prime member) and free returns. That is why most of our recommended wine storage wood wine rack options can be purchased on Amazon.
We share more information below on each of these wine racks. I know this is a long lis, but I wanted to explain how you can use different kinds of wine storage systems, including wine furniture, wall-mounted racks, modular wine racks, and more.
*This post contains compensated links. Find more info in my DISCLAIMER.
Our Wine Bottle Storage History
When we lived in Chicago, we had everything short of a wine cellar. When we first were married, we started with a small wine rack. We had a metal wine rack, with a glass top. It held about 9 wine bottles and had a hanging wine glass rack for a handful of wine glasses. On top, we were able to keep our cocktail and wine accessories. It was a hybrid wine rack bar and wine glass rack. We grew out of that one pretty quick. Only 9 bottles? It was barely a wine storage cabinet.
How Much Wine Storage Did We Need?
When we moved into our condo in Chicago, we knew it was time for an upgrade. Those small wine racks were not going to hold all of our wine. We eventually bought a Danby 75 bottle wine fridge, which was awesome. Eric likes to say it was the second best thing we owned after our Mini Cooper affectionately names Winston. But, it still wasn’t large enough. Then, we bought a few wooden wine storage racks, which together held about 250 bottles. Finally, we were able to store all of our wine!
Now, where we live in Girona, Spain, we have a lot less space and needed to be more creative, particularly with all of the amazing DO Emporda wines we can purchase here! Basically, what I’m saying is we’ve purchased, or decided not to purchase, all different ways of storing wine at home.
You know it’s time to consider a new wine storage solution when you find yourself doing all sorts of DIY wine rack tricks. When you find that you’re stuffing wine boxes under your bed, or you’re perusing all of the wine magazines while drooling over the home wine storage cabinet solutions and wine rack ideas!
Different Kinds of Home Wine Storage Systems
In order to decide which wine battle rack is best for you, there are a few important questions to ask:
- How many wine bottles do you want to store? Think about the future too. If you think you will store more wine in future years, perhaps consider a modular wine rack.
- Do you need room for wine accessories, like drawers or cabinets, or do you only need to store wine? Some floor standing wine rack options are more like wine storage furniture and can do it all. But, is this more excessive than you need?
- Do you need expandable home wine storage? Pay attention to the wine rack dimensions, and think about where you will place it in your home. Is there room to expand in the future, either up or down.
- What is your decor? Do you need luxury wine racks to match your contemporary home decor or some cool wine holders to compliment some funky apartment design? In the end, the best wine rack design is one that you like!
- What is the best wood for wine racks? If your next home wine rack is going into a wine cellar, it doesn’t really make a difference with what wood is used for your home wine rack. Redwood and mahogany are the best wine rack woods because they can stand up to the moisture inside the wine refrigerator. But, wooden wine shelves for outside of a controlled wine cellar can be any wood that fits within your home decor.
Wine Rack Buying Guide
Before we dive into our specific recommendations for wood wine racks, what other options are available for home wine storage.
Wine Cellar
Every wine lover dreams of having their own wine cellar in their home. Many home wine cellars include a series of built-in wine cabinets and comprehensive wine storage solutions. Often times a professional is needed to create the best wine cellar design to fit within the space. Wine cellars are perfect for more serious wine collectors, those that pay attention to wine ratings from the likes of Robert Parker. But, this wine storage option is not for everyone.
Wine cellars can be built under stairs or can be more like a wine room, in a basement or other storage area. The room can include a center wine table, where it is possible to offer wine tastings in the home. They are intense and can be expensive. But, for true wine connoisseurs, they could be worth the investment.
Wine Refrigerator Wine Racks
The next step down from building a wine cellar in your home is having a wine cooler to store your wine. A wine refrigerator is more like a small wine cabinet. Most people will have a small wine cooler that is between a 6 bottle wine rack and a 12 bottle wine rack. But, wine fridges can be a lot larger, like the 75 bottle fridge we had in Chicago!
Wine coolers can be used to store both white and red wine, but it’s perfectly acceptable to have a wine fridge, and one or more wooden wine racks to supplement your collection. That’s what we had in our Chicago condo. Perhaps this is because you want to store more red wine that you don’t want to be kept chilled.
Wooden Wine Racks
This brings us to the primary purpose of this wine product review – wooden wine racks. Wood wine racks come in so many different sizes, shapes, and varieties. They can be simple, like a small wine rack. Or, they can be way more than merely a wine bottle holder – they can become furniture or conversation pieces for your living room, kitchen, or den.
The best wine racks for the home can be a contemporary look or be a rustic wine rack. The wood used can vary. It’s possible to purchase an oak wine rack or a pine wine rack. They can be black, or white, or painted in numerous colors. All of these decisions need to be made based on your decor, and how the wine rack will fit with your current furniture. The rest of this wine rack buying guide will focus on on the other options to consider, besides decor.
Free Standing Wine Rack Cabinet
Some of the nicest looking wooden wine racks are more like furniture and melt into your decor. This can include a wine rack table, where the wine is stored underneath, leaving additional storage or display space on top. Each of these racks is free-standing, meaning they do not need to be installed into kitchen cabinets, or a wine cellar. They can fit into any available space and are not a built-in wine rack.
- Pros: A wine storage cabinet can look beautiful. And, yes, it is more like wine furniture than a practical wine rack. But, they can be practical in another way, because most tend to also be a wine glass holder and store wine accessories as well.
- Cons: Although a wooden wine cabinet can look lovely, they can take up space without offering mega-storage options. It’s not possible to add on additional space later in the same way a modular wine rack can.
Check out our top recommendations for wine cabinet furniture, which are all freestanding. Of the options below, I like the Casey Wine Cabinet because it holds a good number of wine bottles, but takes up the least amount of floor space.
Wooden Wall Mounted Wine Rack & Hanging Wine Racks
A wall wine rack can be a great way to store wine, while saving space. And, some of them can be pretty cool looking too. The more contemporary wine holder for wall options tend to be metal rather than a wood wall wine rack. More simple wine racks are nothing more than a wine shelf, that can be used to store a few bottles. Normally, they tend to hold from 4 to 20 wine bottles, and many have space to hang wine glasses as well. Some of them also can be used for liquor bottles and cocktail glasses, making them dual purposes, which can be helpful.
- Pros: No need to take up valuable floor space. And, they can practically be considered wine art!
- Cons: They tend to be smaller, and more decorative. Perhaps not a great option for people who tend to buy a lot of wine (like us!). It’s also important to be able to install them correctly. If they are not installed properly, that could lead to a big mess!
Check out our wine storage buyer’s guide to shop for a wall hanging wine rack, which are all wall mounted. I like the Floating Wine Rack because it offers the most wine storage options, but still looks very compact on the wall.
Modular Wine Rack
A stackable wine rack is one of the most practical options for home wine storage. Although some can still be appealing to look at, many of these options work best in a basement, closet, or another storage area. But, these are great areas to maintain the proper wine storage temperature. They are made for the wine lovers who might not be able to afford custom wine racks but need to hold a lot of wine. They can start as a simple wine cube, and by using several cubes or racks together, they can turn into a large wine rack, holding hundreds of bottles if need be.
The skies the limit here (or at least maybe the ceiling) with the types of racks available. In many cases, you can measure the space you have available and use a modular system that, essentially, allows you to build a wine rack into your space, but with a lot less cost than the typical custom wine cellars.
Benefits of a Modular Wine Rack
Some of these wooden wine racks, like the Wine Racks America Wine Cube come in different wood stains, offering loads of options to match your decor. This is most similar to the wine racks we had in our Chicago family room. We were able to pick the color to match the rest of our furniture. We put several of them together to fill an entire wall, which otherwise would have remained empty. Putting several of these racks together gave a nice effect. The wine bottles became almost like wine art! We used the top of the wine rack for additional storage, for wine books, wine decanters, and more.
- Pros: These racks grow with you. They offer the best bang for the buck for large quantity wine storage
- Cons: Pay attention to the quality when looking at large wine racks like these, the wood needs to stand up to the weight of the bottles. With stackable wine racks, cheaper is not always better.
Here are my recommendations for modular wine storage. Of these options, I like the Stackable Wine Rack with the dark finish. In this case, that’s just because I just like darker wood. Between these, it really depends on your choice for matching your decor.
Check out this video about how a modular wine rack works:
Countertop Wine Rack
A countertop wine holder turns your kitchen counter into a wine stand. Most countertop wine racks are a little smaller, generally around 6 bottles. And, they are not limited to your kitchen. It’s possible to add a wine rack of this size to any storage area, like a bookcase or hall table.
- Pros: They are great starter wine racks, in that they organize the wine you have on hand. They tend to be a great kitchen wine rack option.
- Cons: Limited storage options as they tend to be more decorative than practical.
Surprise, surprise, of these recommendations, my favorite is the one that holds the most bottles. But, really, here, it goes on your design preference.
Unique Wine Racks – Decorative Wine Rack Buying Guide
So far, we’ve covered all sorts of wooden wine racks, including wine cabinets, wall mounted, and modular or stackable wine racks. But, what about when you are just looking for something different? Well, there are some truly cool wine racks out there! Now, some of these are crossovers in that they are a combination of wood and metal wine racks. Some are just metal, but are just so cool I had to include them! They are truly unique wine racks! They could also make great wine gifts. I have to admit that some of these do not offer the most practical wine rack design, but offer a unique wine display option. One to just have fun with!
One of the most funky wine racks I came across has to be this Gears And Wheels Wine Rack by Foster and Rye. Practical? No. Fun? Indeed!
Worried that the kids might break into your wine collection when you’re not home? How about this vintage wine cage from Wine Enthusiast. It’s actually a 96-Bottle Wine Jail, with a padlock and key and everything.
Into abstract art? How about this Epicureanist Abstract Contemporary Wine Rack, which perhaps could also double as a weapon if need be. This is one modern wine rack.
Looking for a wine table that doubles as a wine rack, that is also in the shape of a wine glass? We’ve got you covered! This Vintage Wine Rack does all of those things. At its most basic it’s a wine bottle shaped wine rack. It’s so meta.
*This post contains compensated links. Find more info in my DISCLAIMER.
Pin It! The Best Wooden Wine Racks
Amber Hoffman, food and travel writer behind With Husband In Tow, is a recovering attorney and professional eater, with a passion for finding new Food and Drink Destinations. She lives with her husband, Eric, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Together over the last 20 years, they have traveled to over 70 countries. Amber is the author of the Food Traveler’s Guide to Emilia Romagna.