A Quick & Easy Wine Storage Solution
July 13, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Ask The Wine Making Guy
I received an email last week from a gentleman who wanted to know if it would be alright to use a wine bottle box as a wine rack.
I figured why not?
On the way home from the movie on Friday night “The Boss” and I stopped in at one the local wine stores we shop at to pick up some “supplies” for a BBQ we were hosting on Saturday night.
I noticed on the way out that there were some empty boxes lying by the door so I asked the cashier if I could have them. He gave me that kind of look like “Dude – that’s what they’re there for – duh!” but instead said “Sure – no problem”.
I quickly snapped up all four boxes and brought them home. “The Boss” thought I was nuts at first but then quickly agreed it was a good idea once I explained why I grabbed them.
Empty wine bottle box
After brought them home I filled a box with 12 bottles of the Napa Valley Stags Leap Merlot we had bottled last week with our friend Mark.
Add your bottles to the box upright
I then turned the box on its side pulling the lid pieces to the side securing the top lid with a paper clip.
The turn the box on its side
I then stepped back to have a look at the setup and decided it was good.
It does the job and didn’t cost me a penny!
Here are some suggestions if you decide to go this route:
- If you buy new wine bottles then keep the case they came in to use for storage.
- If you’re using recycled wine bottles then you can easily pick empty wine boxes from wherever you buy commercial wine – after all they’re going to be thrown out anyways. Some places have them out in the open, while others just need to be asked.
- If all you’re going to do is use the boxes as a wine rack then consider using scissors or a box cutter to remove the lid sections.
- To keep the integrity of the box I’d remove bottles from the top row first then work your way down.
- I personally wouldn’t stack these on top of each other as you’ll break some bottles in the lower boxes as you remove them to drink your wine.
- Remember to store your wine in a cool dark place where the temperature is consistent!
If you decide to try this out (or already have) and have some thoughts or comments on it please reply to this email and let me know about them.
Even better, send me some pictures you don’t mind me showing the rest of the group!
Excellent idea! After reading this entry I went and tried it myself. It works well although I noticed that some wine boxes are much more weakly constructed and I dont think will hold up well in the long term.
I also had some good luck taking out the center pieces, folding the flaps inward, then replacing the center pieces. This gave the box much more structure. It doesnt work with every box however as soon of the boxes have the center pieces built in and cannot be taken out.
Hello, It's been some time now since i've been on here.I thought i'd comment on a better way for bulk storage. I use milk crates,the small 13 by 13 size will hold 16 wine bottles or 25 beer bottles.
The bigger milk crates 13 by 19 will hold 24 wine bottles.I started using these to bring empties upstairs for bottling,and then when full,it's very strong to carry them back downstairs.Since my wine storage rack only holds 56 bottles,it didnt take long to fill it up,so i started to lay the milk crates on their sides,propped up with a 2×4 in front so bottles won't slide out.The end result is more bottles in less space.