If you are a connoisseur of wine and wood then you've found the site to order your
individually built handmade wine rack in a wood of your choice. On the left is the jig I use
to cut the wood strips that support the wine bottles. One back support has been cut out of the
piece of cherry wood, on the very right edge of the photo, and I'm about ready to cut the next one.
I also make a wine rack layout that can be inserted into built-in wall cabinet spaces. To see this layout follow this link - Handmade Premium Hardwood Wine Rack - for Built-In Shelves..
I cannot handcraft my wine rack in oak and compete with Asian hardwoods fabricated in far distant lands. But, if you want a beautiful piece of furniture crafted in American Cherry, not the lower cost Brazilian or Jatoba wood, American Walnut, or some exotic wood like Bubinga (one of the African Rosewoods), Wenge, Zebrawood or Kingwood (one of the most expensive woods still available) then read on!
My wine racks are individually crafted. I burn my name and the year you order the rack on the bottom side of the top.
The finish is three coats of Clear Satin Wipe-On Poly finish by MinWax, and a final Clear Satin Gel-Varnish by Old Masters coat to give a harder final coat. I would never apply a stain to these naturally beautiful hardwoods. If you want stain, on anything but oak, please find another woodworker. On the right is the wine rack in American Cherry. For this wine rack the top is American Cherry with 3/4" Walnut trim on the sides. This is to coordinate with the Walnut accent strips in the client's hardwood flooring. So where else can you get such custom work?
I order my wood from Wall Lumber Co., about 80 miles from my home in Durham, NC. If you are
interested in the exotic woods available you can go to their site using the link shown,
click the Products item on the left of their Home Page and then take the Exotic Hardwood
item - Wall Lumber Co.
Below on the left is a wine rack in the premier wood of the 19th century, American Walnut. The grain is often spectacular and wood colors range from light through an almost black shade. This is one of the reasons walnut is such a beautiful wood. The left back leg shows some of the light Walnut color. There are some really dark spots on the top towards to back, a little left of center, as well as a region on the front edge at the center. And yes, it does smell like walnuts when you are cutting and sanding. This is something only the woodworker gets to appreciate.
My 24 bottle wine rack uses about 8.5 board foot of finished wood and is from 25 to 35 pounds
depending on the wood species. As you can see in the photo on the left (top wire rack row) I've spaced the bottle supports, both in height and width,
that larger 1.5 liter bottles can be place next to 750 ml bottle in a given row and in every vertical row.
Many wine racks do not accommodate the larger bottles. Accounting for trimming and end waste, about a 30% waste,
I must order 11 board foot of raw wood per rack. When transportation costs are added this
is about $80 for American Cherry, $90 for Black Walnut, and $300 for the exotic Kingwood
9/2008 costs. Remember, that is just for the raw lumber! But I don't think you will find
many solid American Cherry or Black Walnut wine racks in the price range I offer products
and I bet you cannot find one made from Zebrawood or Kingwood!
What's my bet - Well I make about the best homemade jams and jellies around. I started putting up jams in 1969. These are used as gifts for family and special friends and are not for sale. I usually put up 20 to 40 pints a year! NC strawberries that arrive in the local U-Pick farms in early spring are about the best! Of course we also live very close to the best peach trees in the nation! So if you can find a 24 bottle Zebrawood or Kingwood wine rack anywhere, and I cannot beat the price, I send you a jar from my "family" stock!
As a price sample, a 24 bottle wine rack in American Cherry is priced at $350. Packing plus FedEx shipping varies from $40 on the East Coast to $60 on the West Coast. These prices are as of 9/2008. All hardware and a number 2 square drive bit is included. You have to turn the screwdriver!
In order for me to ship as an OS2 (OverSized 2) size item some minimal assembly is required. The legs, wine bottle holders and sides are all pre-assembled, via glued dowels. This is a single unit about 27" wide, 32" high and 9" deep. The two leg bottom strips are secured to the legs of this assembly with eight screws, two per leg. The top, at approximately 16" deep and 32" long, is held in place with four table top fasteners, two per side. All screws are inserted into predrilled holes. I use "modern" coated , aggressive thread, high strength screws from McFeely's Square Drive. They go into the pre-threaded hole easily until they seat against the countersunk hole.
I recently completed a wine rack using Bubinga and Wenge woods (May 2010). Both of these woods are tropical African hardwoods. Bubinga is one of the
African Rosewoods noted for it's reddish brown streaks.
The frame of the wine rack and the caps on the ends of the top are solid Bubinga. Wenge wood is a very dark chocolate colored wood.
Both woods are extremely hard and are noted for their acoustical resonance qualities. As such they are often used in musical instruments
like drums and guitars. The Lexus auto line uses Bubinga trim in many of their vehicles.
I'm not sure how much longer Wenge wood will be available as it is listed as endangered.
The photo on the left shows a front view of the wine rack. It shows the Bubinga frame well with the beautiful grain patterns
characteristic of Rosewoods.
The photo on the right shows the Wenge wood top. The beautiful dark chocolate color and the grain variations are clearly shown in the image.
I had to leave this image at a fairly large pixel size to show the grain.
I also make a wine rack layout that can be inserted into built-in wall cabinet spaces. To see this layout follow this link - Handmade Premium Hardwood Wine Rack - for Built-In Shelves..