# Long term bottle storage without massive wine racks



## dcbrown73 (Aug 29, 2016)

I'm currently in an apartment. I have wine racks to store around 80-100 bottles, but with my winemaking taking off and my personal wine collection sizable on it's own. I'm looking for a way to store wines in some type of wine case. (I have already bottled two six batches and expect up to 7-8 more six gallon batches in the next 9 months)

Given my reds need at least 18 months and I have a wine storage facility near by. I figured maybe I store two cases of every batch there until I'm ready to take one case home. That said, I probably need some type of container for a case of wine to put in there. (they store by the case) 

What exactly do you guys use when you're not lucky enough to have a massive bottle storage rack?

I looked at wooden wine crates, but they seem to be $12+ another $10 for shipping each for only a six bottle crate. Given each batch will produce two cases, that's almost $100 per batch for crates. That substantially increases the cost of each batch. 

Standard corrugated boxes I get from my local wine shop do not really work for storing wine on their side for cork protection.


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## ibglowin (Aug 29, 2016)

Many of us use the Seville Wine Racks. Great price, you can build it high or wide. They say it only holds 168 bottles but you can easily and safely put 210 bottles on it without any problems. I have 3 of them myself.


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## wineforfun (Aug 29, 2016)

My 144 bottle rack is full so I have been using these. 
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-Small-Storage-Crate-16958612-Pack-of-12/25466446 

$3 at Wal-Mart. Hold 16-20 bottles on sides.


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## TonyR (Aug 29, 2016)

I would say DRINK FASTER, have small get togethers with friends and supply the wine, hell thats the best part of wine making. Most home winemakers give away a LOT of wine. Don't worry so much about storing wine on its side. Darn near every where that sells wine stores it standing up, at times for years. Most wine, especial from kits or juice buckets are ment to be drank in a few years, thay will go down hill after time.


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## AZMDTed (Aug 29, 2016)

Ditto on the Seville, lots of wine in a minimum of space. I got two from Walmart.com


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## bkisel (Aug 29, 2016)

wineforfun said:


> My 144 bottle rack is full so I have been using these.
> https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-Small-Storage-Crate-16958612-Pack-of-12/25466446
> 
> $3 at Wal-Mart. Hold 16-20 bottles on sides.



How high can you safely stack them? Thanks...


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## wineforfun (Aug 29, 2016)

bkisel said:


> How high can you safely stack them? Thanks...



haha
Great question. I actually have mine side by side. I haven't had to stack them yet. I am guessing only 2-3 high at most, as they are flimsy. I just picked these up because they are cheap and I didn't want my wine just laying on the floor. As my rack opens up space, I move the crate bottles into those spots.

With that said, if I need to stack high(er) I would look at getting the same thing in a sturdier plastic. I have seen them too, I am sure they run more. I am talking about the ones I believe grocery stores receive gallons of milk in.


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## Mismost (Aug 29, 2016)

I have a lot of wine stored under the beds in plastic storage bins...you can stash a lot of wine under there. I also use the cardboard wine boxes form the store and I use that fiber tape and just wrap them up nice and tight, stored on their side....PITA to get into, but that is actually helping keep the wine safe from myself!

Just met a guy who leases an climate controlled mini-warehouse space to store his wines. We are supposed to go look at it this week. He saw a wine rack I made out of goat panel fencing. Think he said the unit was 10x10x 8-6 tall....that'll hold a lot of wine.


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## dcbrown73 (Aug 29, 2016)

ibglowin said:


> Many of us use the Seville Wine Racks. Great price, you can build it high or wide. They say it only holds 168 bottles but you can easily and safely put 210 bottles on it without any problems. I have 3 of them myself.



Would that be safe on carpet or would that destabilize it? I suppose I could just keep the volume low enough that it doesn't become unstable.

I just talked to the wine storage guy near my work. He said they use double-walled 12 cell corrugate storage boxes (strong enough to store wine on it's side) and he could sell them to me at $6.50 each. (a lot cheaper than ULINE)

In the long run, it might be better to just store them there. They keep the at proper storage temperature and they only charge $2/month per case for storage providing they aren't mixed cases. For reasons I don't know, they charge an extra $4/month for mixed cases. Case pulls are $2 while bottle pulls are $3. I can deal with that. They will even pick up and deliver for $5 a case with $40 minimum.


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## ibglowin (Aug 29, 2016)

The Seville comes with wall anchors that will hold it to the wall. You can also use two plastic carpet protectors on the front poles only. That effectively tips the rack backwards against the wall. I also purposely place my bottles towards the back of the rack putting most of the weight on the rear. The feet are also adjustable. Screw them in or out as needed to raise or lower the rack. Lots of options with this rack including the fact that it looks nice.


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## Bubba1 (Aug 29, 2016)

no problem on carpet at all I place my bottles towards the back a bit as well works out fine for me.


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## AZMDTed (Aug 29, 2016)

Bubba, I love that floor mat!


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## dcbrown73 (Aug 29, 2016)

AZMDTed said:


> Bubba, I love that floor mat!



I'm in complete agreement.


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## roger80465 (Aug 29, 2016)

If you have the space, you can always put two together back to back and tie with zip ties. They won't go anywhere


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## richmke (Aug 29, 2016)

Natural cork needs the bottle to be kept on its side in order to keep the cork from drying out. 

With synthetic corks, like Nomacorc, the bottles can be stored upright. So, you can keep the full bottles in the original boxes, and stack them on top of each other. I have no idea how many cases of bottles you can store on top of each other.


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## jumby (Aug 30, 2016)

I use Nomacorc corks and have about 60 cases stored upright for long term storage. Some cases are stacked 5-6 high in my cellar.


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## MacsWife (Aug 30, 2016)

Tony R
Why do the wines made from kits go downhill after a couple of years?


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## richmke (Aug 30, 2016)

MacsWife said:


> Tony R
> Why do the wines made from kits go downhill after a couple of years?



Most wines (including kits) go downhill after a few years. Most wines are intended to be consumed within one year, and the rest within 5 years. Only a select few are intended to be aged for a long time.

Expect high end red kits peak in the 2-5 year range.


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## bkisel (Aug 30, 2016)

richmke said:


> Most wines (including kits) go downhill after a few years. Most wines are intended to be consumed within one year, and the rest within 5 years. Only a select few are intended to be aged for a long time.
> 
> Expect high end red kits peak in the 2-5 year range.




So what is it with the select few that allows them to age for a long time? I'm guessing the temp and humidity of the storage area would be of importance. Premiums corks I imagine. What about the wine itself?


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## FTC Wines (Aug 31, 2016)

I agree with Mike, those Seville racks are awesome. I only had space for 3 racks side by side, so I ordered a 4 th rack & put a third of that rack on top of the other 3. Worked like a charm. They tilt back slightly & are screwed heavily to the wall. I spaced out the racks because I'm going to add oak 1X4 to cover the chrome legs & oak plywood to cover ends & top. Roy


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 31, 2016)

AZMDTed said:


> Bubba, I love that floor mat!



I was thinking the same thing.


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 31, 2016)

For simple, non elegant storage, I put them in the cases the bottles came in. I store them upside down. I have roughly 25 cases stacked 3 high this way. This is my storage for stuff I know I don't want to drink for a while. Then they move onto a Seville rack or the 50 bottle wine cooler.


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## richmke (Aug 31, 2016)

bkisel said:


> I'm guessing the temp and humidity of the storage area would be of importance. Premiums corks I imagine.



That is "how" you do it. Not which wines benefit from extended aging.



> So what is it with the select few that allows them to age for a long time?



http://www.intowine.com/aging-wines-which-age-well


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## opus345 (Sep 2, 2016)

Boatboy24 said:


> I put them in the cases the bottles came in. I store them upside down. I have roughly 25 cases stacked 3 high this way.



How do you keep all the bottles from falling out?


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## opus345 (May 29, 2017)

Got to say that I'm loving the Seville racks. Gonna order a couple more.


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## garymc (May 30, 2017)

I have a Seville rack. They work best with bordeaux bottles. For insurance, you can use rubberized shelf liner between the rows of glass to make sure the second or third row doesn't slide.


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## opus345 (May 30, 2017)

That was my test drive stacking. The day after I took that pix, I inserted thin bubble wrap between each row. Everything is snug and tight now. I've even got my 1.5 liter bottles on the bottom row stacked with bubble wrap in between. I'm planning to bottle a 6 gal batch of Blue Blood and a 5 gal batch of the WE Viognier this weekend, I'm going to need more rack space.


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## G259 (May 21, 2019)

I work in a machine shop, and the metals (in-process) are stored on these exact racks, at a 6' height. They don't use the ties to the wall however, maybe I will ask about that, but the weight is not the same either (mixed 50% aluminum and other metals). I'll assume that the liquid cache is heavier and prone to damage, but I wouldn't want to knock a part with .0005" tolerances on the floor either!


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## SethF (May 22, 2019)

jumby said:


> I use Nomacorc corks and have about 60 cases stored upright for long term storage. Some cases are stacked 5-6 high in my cellar.


I use Nomacorcs as well. I would inquire of the company as to their recommendations relative to upright vs. side storage. I think their specs on O2 intake are based on side storage. 
While I realize they are manufactured, and am aware of the materials used, because they are a natural material, I would still store them on their side.
Which ones are you using?


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## Scooter68 (May 22, 2019)

With those Seville racks I suspect that they have adjustable feet that could be set higher in front avoiding any tipping and of course load from the bottom up keeping your multi-layer rows on the lower shelves. 

And remember NEVER argue with the laws of physics - you will lose every time. 

Oh and if you live in California or any other local with earthquakes are a threat - secure to a solid wall. 

Crying over spilled wine IS permitted.


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## G259 (May 22, 2019)

I don't believe that the feet are adjustable. These ARE quality racks though, if they are the same thing we have at work, and I believe it is.


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## Scooter68 (May 22, 2019)

You could also use wood shims under the front feet or those stick on felt feet, pretty much anything to give it just a little backward lean, not enough for bottles to slide back, probably 1/4 to 1.2 inch at most.


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