I’ve been trying to secure boxes to store wines in my off-site. Normally I get them from my retailer, but since the pandemic all the local stores have removed this option. (Also that’s always been hit and miss - even when I ask knowledgeable places like K&L, they sometimes hand over flimsy cartons with the tops cut off. I thank them for it and don’t complain, but those don’t work.) And when I was moving units a few weeks ago I noticed that some of the boxes that retail wines show up on have started to look a little frail after 5-8 years.
I was lucky enough in the beforetimes to run into a guy at my storage place who ordered a bunch of custom six-bottle cardboard storage cases, but that supplier isn’t making those any more. Is there a source for six- or twelve-bottle cardboard boxes that are suitable for long term storage?
domaine or vine vault. not super cheap, but very sturdy.
Uline - ULINE - Shipping Boxes, Shipping Supplies, Packaging Materials, Packing Supplies
I buy the 6 bottle carriers. 4 bundles - 40 boxes at a time is the best shipping price.
Great - thank you so much for the options. Domaine is indeed pricey but their magnum boxes come as sixers, which seems easier than in 12-bottle size. Uline is much cheaper - ordered some stuff from both!
Flickinger supplied 50 12 bottle boxes when we moved at a very reasonable price. Top quality.
The Layflat boxes seem best. German wines are always a problem solved by weinboxes. Get the plastic sleeves mentioned elsewhere.
Lt us know which you like better. I’m curious about this too as I need to expand.
uline is heavier construction, but the tape doesn’t seem to hold up as well. I also prefer the Domaine lay-flat boxes which are better for stacking.
Awesome, I was wondering about the lay flats. Do you use the 6 or 12? I like the idea of 6 but wonder do you lose some availability to overall store more wine?
Sounds like you’re near K&L. Their local delivery has been done in very nice cardboard boxes since the pandemic.
I’ve purchased the uline 12 bottle boxes. They are very heavy cardboard and have held up extremely well, despite the humidity and frequent shuffling in my lockers. One item to note is that due to their somewhat universal nature (they will hold most 750ml bottle shapes) they tend to be a bit larger than typical bdx boxes which most lockers are built to hold.
The sixes are more expensive per bottle, I think the loss is minimal using the sixes. Charlie pointed out how much he liked the lay-flats. You’ll need some other boxes for German Riesling bottles, some will barely fit in the Uline boxes. Usually, I had to put Germans in the middle.
Good point, I always have had open storage so never noticed.
Very true. I’ve been using those for storage, but definitely need a more economical way than getting one box for every case ordered ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I’m also close to Heritage Auctions’ warehouse, and when I’ve picked up winnings the guys there have occasionally tossed me a few extra boxes, which are very similar to K&L’s in durability.
I guess it depends on how stingy your locker storage location is. I get more than the rated cases in my locker using the 6 bottle Uline cases. In fact they actually recently lowered their rated capacity because I guess people complained they couldn’t get that many. But I was always getting more than the old rated capacity.
If you want maximum storage, use the vine vault lay flats and don’t put the inserts in. You can put 18-20 bottles in a box then.
Do you use mesh sleeves? ULINE - Shipping Boxes, Shipping Supplies, Packaging Materials, Packing Supplies
Nope. Just carefully arrange the bottles and stack the boxes carefully.