Building Plans for a Wine Rack

Design Considerations

• The design of a wine rack is determined by how many wine bottles you have or intend to collect. If you plan on having a big collection, a large, cabinet-size rack is the way to go. On the other hand, a small collection would only require a tabletop wine rack. In general, if you plan to store more than 30 wine bottles, a cabinet-size rack is the best choice.

  It's important that your wine rack keeps the bottle horizontal so the cork stays moist. Storing the bottle upside down has the same effect, but with the added downside of an inverted label.

  One option for keeping a wine bottle horizontal is a wine rack with scalloped edges, which are made by cutting 4-inch holes into a board, then splitting the board in half to create resting spaces for the butt and neck of the bottle.

  Make sure your wine rack is at least 7 inches deep to accommodate laying all the bottles horizontally. The deeper the rack, the more stable the wine bottles will be.

Materials

• To build a scalloped-edge wine rack that houses 54 bottles, you'll need nine 6-by-36-inch boards, three 4-by-8-foot plywood sheets, screws, wood glue and a drill press to cut circular holes.

Building a Scalloped Rack

• Cut six 4-inch-diameter holes in each of the nine 6-by-36 boards with the drill press. Cut them 1 3/4 inches from each side and leave 1 1/4 inches between holes. Cut the boards in half lengthwise so they split down the middle of the hole. Cut one plywood sheet to 36 inches wide.

  Sand and rout all the edges, then stain or paint all your wood, if desired. Mark 5 inches in from one of the 4-foot edges of the plywood boards--the uprights--then glue and screw one of the scalloped boards to both, ensuring that the scalloped board stays level.

  Measure 7 inches up from the first scalloped board, then glue and screw the next one into place. Repeat this for seven more boards, and then do the same with the remaining nine boards on the other side.

  Glue and screw the the third plywood sheet to one open side of the assembly. This is the back of your now-completed wine rack. This rack is easily expandable by adding another support and more scalloped boards.