The Auswine Forum

I am currently looking at installing all new racking in my cellar and am considering getting them all from Cellar Wine Designs, namely the Modular Kit Wine Racking for 110 dozen bottles.
Just wondering what everyone else has:
suppliers
costs
recommendations

Graham

Fair mix of racks in my cellar but the majority are in ones I made myself.

Buy 100mm galvanised mesh from metalmart or similar metal trader (about half the price of bunnings). take outer most wire off, then trim back every second wire to next most inner wire. shouls have large grid with wire sticking out every 200mm. Cut 16 or 16 mm plywood to fit round and about 300mm deep. Drill holes in plywood to line up with the wires which stick out (twice per sheet about 200mm apart). Now slot two sheets of mesh into plywood to create rack. Screw edges of plywood together, and knock wires so they are flat against the plywood.

It can be time consuming but much cheaper than buying commercial racks. That being said I thought seriously about buying racks when building the new cellar but the racks from old house plus some shelving fitted perfectly.

I made mine out of 100x100 gal mesh. But having a welder I made up some flat metal supports that hold the 2 sheets the correct distance apart and also provide a support to dyna bolt the rack to the wall. You will need a couple of supports in the middle of the sheets to stop them bulging in the middle and letting the bottles fall in between. The only downside to this storage is some bubbly bottle and magnums don't fit and if you are not careful you can scratch off the labels when putting the bottles in the rack.

Ciao

Glen

Thanks DJ, I'm sure many a reader with greater cognitive ability than me - most of the global population, probably - found that clear. However, can you post a photo? Then again, don't sweat it, I'd probably maim myself cutting the wood. Sounds like a good solution though.

graham, I had wine cellar designs come to my place to quote on my cellar. Honestly, I thought it to be an expensive option, anywhere between 5 and 7 dollars per bottle, and thats for pine.

GRB wrote:You will need a couple of supports in the middle of the sheets to stop them bulging in the middle and letting the bottles fall in between.

Been there

Done that.

Lost some wine too before I made the connectors!!

ouch.

Gavin Trott wrote:

GRB wrote:You will need a couple of supports in the middle of the sheets to stop them bulging in the middle and letting the bottles fall in between.

Been there

Done that.

Lost some wine too before I made the connectors!!

I was lucky and didn't break any, god knows how but I have heard of others that were not so fortunate.

Thats why I am changing....10 dozen vat 1 and 47's fell out. Only lost 2

Hi Graham,

Go and have a look at the new IKEA Springwood. They have these chrome stackable wine racks that look very strong. They are also well priced. I am heading there again in the next week or so to purchase some.

Cheers
Leigh

Gavin Trott wrote:

GRB wrote:You will need a couple of supports in the middle of the sheets to stop them bulging in the middle and letting the bottles fall in between.

Been there

Done that.

Lost some wine too before I made the connectors!!

The easiest way is just use some big zip ties to tie the front to the back at various points.

Leigh wrote:Go and have a look at the new IKEA Springwood. They have these chrome stackable wine racks that look very strong. They are also well priced. I am heading there again in the next week or so to purchase some.

Do you mean these?
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... ctId=26576
They do look alright
Ikea's only problem is they tend to be out of stock of whatever I want. I think they have it in for me

Lou

Hi Lou,

That's the ones!. Went to IKEA yesterday, and purchased 4 boxes. Come home last night and put them together. They are fantastic and seem to be well constructed. I have them sitting on a concrete floor and they also have adjustable legs which make them easy to adjust and keep stable.

The only negative with IKEA is that you tend to spend too much money whenever you visit.

Cheers
Leigh

They look fine for a very small collection but if you're racking a cellar, they look like just about the last thiing you'd want. They only take 2 dozen wines and take up a LOT of space and cost nearly $3 a bottle which is not cost effective at all.

I have a range of stuff in my cellar. Some powder coated steel mesh racking which is great except for champagne and larger bottles, some old goverment bookshelves, and three of these:
http://www.vintagecellars.com.au/script ... part=12734
which are by far the most cost effective, being under $1 a bottle and take 14 dozen (or 16 if you want to stack two boxes on top). They also look good when lined up together along a wall. Allow a couple of hours to put together the first one but you get quicker with experience. (You WILL need an electric screwdriver/drill!)

I also have a tasting table in the middle which is now buried under a million wooden crates but looked great when you could see it! It looks like this but I got the pine one which is a bit cheaper.
http://www.vintagecellars.com.au/script ... part=19148

Have to apologise, Gavin, for the links to VC but they don't actually sell them but act as an agent for another company. A lot of people sell this range so you could look around for the best prices but the VC ones are competitivie I think.

Thankyou for all the advice. I went with cellar designs....racking for 112 dozen costing $2400 ($1.70 per bottle ) in pine.
Guys were great 15% discount and a few other freebies.
Stage 2...rip out old racks and install new.

Graham

How on earch did you get them for less than $2 a bottle? Is that installed, cant be.

Paullie wrote:How on earch did you get them for less than $2 a bottle? Is that installed, cant be.

My wine "racking" cost me less than 50c per bottle, recycled bookcases mostly, with home-grown bracing and dividers, bottles stacked on each other rather than in individual slots, otherwise I wouldn't fit it in the available space. You damage a few labels that way, but I've not broken a bottle in over 10 years while getting another out or rearranging stuff during stocktakes etc.

http://redbigot.info/Cellar/cellar1.html

You cant compare purpose built racking with bin options and single bottle options to book shelves, sorry.

Paullie wrote:You cant compare purpose built racking with bin options and single bottle options to book shelves, sorry.

Of course I can, if I want to. They both store wine in an accessible fashion, one just takes up more space and has more snob value than the other. It works for me, I get to fit all my wine in the available space and I get several thousand extra dollars to spend on wine rather than showing off fancy single-bottle display racks.

RB, you have a great cellar, but you also have more space then most.

Bookshelves do not give the flexibility of custom sizes or designs, only offer BIN storage, and as you've said, can damage the labels. I'm one of those people who enjoy preserved labels.

Anything $2 or less for single bottle storage is excellent. I myself use Bordex because I like the overall offering, and price, I managed to get new Bordex for just under $2 a bottle, self installed though.

Paullie wrote:RB, you have a great cellar, but you also have more space then most.

Well, I must have more wine than most then, because it's full (even after dropping about 800 bottles in the last year or so) and if I had single bottle racking I'd need 2-3 times the space as well as costing 4 times as much. I'm not fussed about a few labels with scuff marks as long as the wine is good. My cellar isn't "for show", it's to store my wine as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible. Most of the people that get invited to browse in there appreciate it for the contents, not the look of the racking.

The only issue is for the tapered "burgundy" bottles, they are limited to the top row of a bin or stay in boxes stacked on other shelving. I do have a few bins/shelves configured for individual bottles of sparkling wines or odd shaped bottles, usually just boxes (flat pack ones with one narrow side removed are good), with substantial cardboard dividers, fitted into the shelves/bins.

Red Bigot wrote:even after dropping about 800 bottles in the last year or so

*shudders* I know what you mean, but don't *say* that!!

Definately working well for you then RB.

louise-vin wrote:

Red Bigot wrote:even after dropping about 800 bottles in the last year or so

*shudders* I know what you mean, but don't *say* that!!

Ok, sorry.

Paullie
The pricing was self installed. I've currently got the steel mesh but they do not suit my needs-not snob value but simple ergonomics-with a mix of bins,racks, case and carton racks I can fit far more wine in.
Any one in Brisbane want steel racking for 700 bottles ? Cost ? a nice bottle of wine just email me.

Red Bigot wrote:

louise-vin wrote:

Red Bigot wrote:even after dropping about 800 bottles in the last year or so

*shudders* I know what you mean, but don't *say* that!!

Ok, sorry.

Aus post are quite capable of doing the dropping for you aren't they Brian

GB