I am in a fortunate position of building a new home, complete with a wine cellar + “tasting room” in the basement. While the footprint of the space is “fixed” there is some flexibility on how to layout the racks and shelving.
Below is my first shot.
Goal was to maximize storage, while allowing some space to show off a few bottles (15 degree display rack, VintageView magnum wall racks). I’ve also added the cubbies plus some “counter space” for flexibility. There is a small closet in this room where I plan to store glassware, decanters, etc. I mainly drink reds and sparkling and rarely buy cases (usually am purchasing 1-2 bottles, and if I like it a lot I may purchase 2-3 more).
Would love anyone’s thoughts on how to best lay this out!
Hey Kyle, depending on your age and how big your collection is likely to become I’d seriously consider a good amount of double racking…possibly the entire ‘back wall’. Also personally when I was working on mine I didn’t want any dead corners, so I 45’d some very deep racks for mags and 3liters of Rieslings to maximize space.
Anyway best of luck.
Kyle,
Congrats. I would agree with above that you may want to double bottle deep some racks if possible. Also, i would evaluate if instead of the closet for glassware if you use it for wine. I have found everyone i know builds thinking they will never get to the capacity that they are building, all get there quickly.
I agree on the double racking. I did two walls with double racking and wish I had done a third wall with double rather than single racking. My cellar was built to hold 2400 bottles and there is 3000 or so in there now.
My two cents, the display row is nice but it reduces storage capacity. I have a display row in my cabinet and it reduces storage capacity by more than a case. Unless you want to lose some capacity to show off bottles I would just do standard racking throughout for your bottles.
depending on what racking you go with and the height of the overall room, you may end up with a space on the top of your individual bottle racking (for instance, if you go with kits like I did, then you’re locked in to a specific rack height). I installed cross pieces on the top so I can support magnum storage up there, one per column (since the space isn’t entirely confined you have plenty of space). This might alleviate some of magnum storage requirements elsewhere, where you can use that space in other ways.
Also consider half bottles if you have any. I completely failed to consider them in my design, now I’m struggling with where I’m going to put them.
If by “cubbies” you mean something like bulk storage/diamond bins, I think this is a great idea.
If your objective is maximizing # of bottles you can store, consider powder coated steel racking. It enabled 2 extra bottles per column in my cellar which is similar in square footage to the space to have - an extra 10 cases.
I don’t think you have the depth to do double deep racks in that space, as some have suggested. If my math is right that would leave you with < 18" to move around, which is super tight.
Since you can’t see the left side of the cellar due to the wall, I would ditch the magnum racking on that side in favor of more cubbies or racking (double deep could work on that side, although you would loose some of the main wall racking). You will gain a lot more storage that way.
Definitely keep the counter space you mention, or somewhere a decanter will fit inside the cellar - e.g., extra cubby at a comfortable height. For bigger reds that need a few hours of decanting, it’s nice to keep them at cellar temp so they don’t end up too warm when you serve them.
You may need to shift the right wall magnum rack towards the glass to make it easier to access the bottles on the right side of the main racking.
Is this space going to be actively cooled? If not, consider whether you want to do anything now (e.g., framing, electrical) to allow you to easily make that change in the future if the temperature range isn’t as steady as you had hoped.
You said you don’t often buy cases, but you could consider changing the bottom portion of the main racking to case bins. Even if you don’t buy cases, you will be able to fit more loose bottles into a bin versus the equivalent sized individual racks, so that will expand capacity.
I would consider not doing the display row the full width. As mentioned you lose a lot of capacity there. I only did my display row ten bottles wide on a wall that about twenty columns.
Also, I’m not entirely sure about your right wall but it looks like the vintage view will face the interior of the cellar. I would build that to have bin storage facing the inside of the cellar and then the vintage view racks mounted on the side of the storage so they are visible to the outer room. Pick up quite a bit of storage and be better for your temps for admirers to admire the bottles from the outside anyway.
I would also consider moving your cubbies to the outside wall. I bet you would pick up more storage doing it that way. The distance between the front and back could be a little tight but I have about the same distance and it’s fine. You could then also spread your back wall all the way to the corner.
I would think about getting rid of the tasting room. Who wants to sit in a basement if you have a nice kitchen, living room or proch? The house I grew up in had one, and we never used it. Two friends of mine have a tasting room right in front of the cellar and still we always sit upstairs. Unless the tasting room is spectacular by itself, you will hardly ever use it.
So get rid of the tasting room and make a spectacular, bigger wine cellar, you can keep the display rows, you can add much more… You can never have enough space (we all have made that experience and still do).
First, Congrats! This is always the most fun anyone ever has who enjoys wine. The large glass front systems are really impressive.
I agree if your footprint is fixed, double racking is too tight with only 43". Even with the glass door on 3/4 of width, you could not comfortably access the racking, imo.
One suggestion I have would be to consider moving/embedding your magnum racking into the back wall design so that it is more visible, and use the end wall spaces for bulk storage cubing or diamonds. This would add storage capacity and showcase the magnums without have to enter the actual cellar space. I don’t know if you are building your own racking, buying ready made, or custom built. I built my own, but they were for utility not visual appeal. I have friends who have used Wine Racks America and they will give some layout suggestions for different types of racking given a footprint. I think the service is free if you buy their racking, which comes in a range of woods and finishes, and costs.
A question, is there going to be a cooler or plans for possibility of one later?
Clearly, we need to blow out the back wall, pour new footings and install a 28’ I-beam.
Kyle came to the right place, glad we could help.
Serious question for Kyle. Is there space behind the back wall and under the stairs? That would get him double depth and you wouldn’t know/see it. Just saying…
If you install sliding glass doors that would give you access to the entire back wall, you could move to double deep bins. Slike the door over, reach in and grab a bottle. Frankly, you don’t have a lot of space there for a walk-in wine room. I’d get rid of the cabinet and just go with double deep bins that span the entire length. Add a row or two for mags.
I’d recommend double depth below (up to +/-36") and single depth above, even with the narrow aisle it will seem open this way. I’d leave the display row as the loss isn’t significant and it will have a lot of effect. Wooded racks will yield a higher density than metal. Don’t turn the corner it will only diminish the capacity.
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