What to do with all those full bottles

[norsemanjpa]

So I made 65 gallons of wine this year and it dawned on me "what the heck am I going to do with all those bottles coming up?" So, true to my cheap roots I set about building my own wine racks out of furring strip and 2x4s, here is the cellar so far. Lots of mess, man am I sore, good excuse to buy a drill pres. But so far so good. Empty rack pictured holds 240 bottles full rack pictured holds 150 bottles. Lots of work left.

View attachment 1417394288347.jpg

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[danthebugman]

I'm not big on wine, but man that's a thing of beauty. Nice work .

 

[norsemanjpa]

current wines:
14gal Diamond for champagne 11gal Catawba 5gal still/ 5gal sparkling
5 gal Foch, 5gal Steuben, 5gal Concord, 5gal Niagara, 5gal Blushing Bride (rose blend), 5gal Fredonia.

 

[lukebuz]

Looks nice!
How about some plans, or a write up?

 

[Hello]

That's amazing. I love the look.

 

[The10mmKid]

Nice work!
A question for a experienced & skilled rack builder like yourself.

Would you build it again as one piece or break it up into two or four more manageable units?

Thank You for the inspiration,
'da Kid

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Secured to the wall?

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Very nice

 

[nutty_gnome]

The table there reminds me of the drinking table in Tibet in the first Indiana Jones movie.... lots'a character in that wood to be sure.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUAueFkVYvA[/ame]

 

[norsemanjpa]

Nice work!
A question for a experienced & skilled rack builder like yourself.

Would you build it again as one piece or break it up into two or four more manageable units?

Thank You for the inspiration,
'da Kid

It was probably a bit easier to build as one unit for my purposes, but splitting it into sections would certainly be no problem.

 

[norsemanjpa]

Secured to the wall?

The wall is cement on the bottom 1/2 and not stable in that direction at the top. I secured the top board to the floor joists above with 3 1/2 inch screws on every joist available (6 I think).

I also built the 2X4 portion in place, used PT 4X4's on the floor and cut all vertical 2X4's 1/4" long and forced them in (It's pretty stable) I did connect the rear portion to the front portion with flat metal at the bottom.

On the smaller rack I did connect the front to the wall and the studs were the frame for the back.

Hope this makes sense

 

[norsemanjpa]

The table there reminds me of the drinking table in Tibet in the first Indiana Jones movie.... lots'a character in that wood to be sure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUAueFkVYvA

The table is a wooden folding table which is probably older than me. I had considered putting in a table similar to a middle ages pub table (very similar to a picnic table), But now I will have to look at the Indiana Jones movie and consider that design.

 

[norsemanjpa]

Looks nice!
How about some plans, or a write up?

Plans are going to have to be the pictures but here is a writeup of my experience.

Ok, this will be a first so here is what I did B-).
1- purchased 2 packs of furring strips 1x3x8 ish (usualy comes in pacs of 6 tied with nylon banding, leave
together)
Clamped packs together tight from sides and top to bottom (made sure all boards are lined up)
I used 24" centers marked them, used my trusty 3 1/2" hole saw blade to mark holes 5 per section 1/2 of
hole on one board 1/2 of hole on the other
I did first batch with hand drill (still tingling) then got a drill press (muuuch better)
(USE CAUTION WHEN OPERATING DRILL AND HOMEBREW/WINE ONLY AFTER YOUR DONE)
Drill bit at center of hole saw placed between top boards and drill
Used first set to mark second
Repeat
Purchased 2 more packs, marked them using large hole furring strip (middle of big holes)
Drilled with 1 1/4" hole saw
Used first set to mark second again, consistency in hole placement is important. (Ummmmm seriosly)
Repeat

I did not sand (im busy and lazy) but its an option

Then stain (I used red oak)

2- frame is made of 2x4s top, sides and middle 2, basically made it like a frame wall (screws not nails) made
boards 1/4" longer and forced into place.

Used 4x4 pressure treated for bottom due to basement floor being wet at times

Again I attached top 2x4 to floor joists above for stability, stained all

made back frame first, attached large hole boards using bottles to measure space between (be generous)
some bottles are diferent size so I spaced accordingly.

Built front frame same as back frame, attached back to front frame using boards on one and metal plates on the other, stained and attached small hole boards using wine bottles (I used 2" outdoor screws on back and 2" brass like screws on front)

Hope this is useful

 

[lukebuz]

Awesome, thanks! I thought maybe you routed each hole.... yikes!

 

[norsemanjpa]

Nope no router or regular bit due to drilling 2 stacks clamped side by side. Hole saws worked well, pain to pull out wood and I usually had to drill twice per hole due to friction. But overall not too bad a job.

 

[WVMJ]

Should you be concerned about odors coming off of the PT wood soaking into your corks over the long term? WVMJ

 

[norsemanjpa]

Should you be concerned about odors coming off of the PT wood soaking into your corks over the long term? WVMJ

I have no idea, but considering the footage I have seen of the bottles/corks In caves in France, I personally am not concerned. Perhaps synthetic corks would address this. Any other thoughts?

 

[Verratti]

Absolutly love the cave! good job!!

 

[Helly]

That looks great. Nice work.


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