Available in many styles, the tabletop mini wine rack sometimes accommodates wineglasses as well.
Since the majority of wine is consumed mere days after purchase, most wine drinkers find it impractical to invest money or precious space in a wine cellar or cabinet. A mini wine rack might prove the best solution, with a range of styles and sizes to accommodate available space and decor. Capable of holding a single bottle or even dozens of them, these racks can be free-standing, suspended from the ceiling or mounted on walls or existing furniture. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Location
Natural and artificial light, vibration, excessive heat or cold, too much or too little humidity, and changes in temperature can spoil wine over time. While these factors will have less of an effect on short-term storage, it might be best to locate a wine rack away from stoves, windows, dishwashers and clothes dryers. Bottles should also be stored on their sides so corks stay moist and sediment collects on the sides of the bottles, rather than at their bottoms or necks. Consequently, the horizontal dimensions of even the slimmest wine rack will measure at least the length and width of a bottle, and space must be allotted for such.
Free-Standing
Perhaps the most common and versatile choice of storage is the tabletop wine rack. Size and style can range from a wire cradle or even a re-purposed ski designed to hold a single bottle, to an elaborate, multi-bottle rack whose beauty enhances the room's decor. Sometimes several bottles of wine are supported lying on their sides across two parallel slats of wood with strategically positioned notches carved into them. Made from wood, metal, wrought iron and various other sturdy materials, a wine rack might consist of a simple grid of diamond-, square- or U-shaped cubbies. Other racks incorporate seemingly random scrollwork patterns offering circular supports for the bottom and neck of each bottle. Accommodating anywhere from one bottle to dozens of them, tabletop wine racks can rest on any flat surface of sufficient size and sturdiness: counter tops, kitchen islands, bookcases, floors or even inside cabinets or closets.
Mounted
If counter or floor space is precious, consider investing in a wall-mounted wine rack. Bottles nested in such a rack might be pointing out into the room or lying parallel to the wall. Some wall-mounted wine racks, intended to be merely functional and even discreet, work as little more than shelves for the bottles. Others resemble works of art, with bottles positioned around and as part of decorative elements or mirrors. As another alternative, some wine racks can be discreetly attached to the side of existing furniture or to the underside of wall-mounted cabinets.
Hanging
Wine lovers lacking sufficient wall, floor or counter space -- or ones who just really like the idea -- might choose to install hanging wine racks, which are suspended from the ceiling. Varying in size from capacity for just a few bottles to a structure the size of a table, these racks can be functional or decorative and are often made out of metal or wood available in various finishes. Some of these racks are suspended from chains, while others are fastened to the ceiling much as a hanging light fixture might be. Hanging wine racks might accommodate space for wineglasses as well and even hang over kitchen islands to serve as accessories for impromptu cocktail bars.
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