The Perfect Fit: Wine Storage Ideas for Small Spaces

Every wine lover knows that the next best thing to tasting a variety of vintages is collecting their favorite bottles and storing them for future enjoyment. Unfortunately, not all wine enthusiasts have the luxury of unlimited space for storing their bottles. For those who live in apartments, condos, tiny homes or other smaller abodes, storing wine bottles can pose a serious challenge. Several creative wine storage solutions have emerged recently that offer options for those who only have room for a limited number of bottles, or simply don’t have enough space just yet for their dream cellar.

The Best Small Wine Coolers

Whether you are a wine aficionado or a casual imbiber, it’s always a smart choice to store your wine bottles properly, which prevents any negative effects to the taste, aroma and the overall quality. Today, wine storage racks and refrigerators are high-tech, innovative and stylish, while offering plenty of ways to save your valuable space.

Small Wine Refrigerators: A Cool Choice

Ideally, a wine refrigerator is the best place to store your bottles, as these convenient appliances offer manual controls for the most optimal temperatures.

However, as most small apartment dwellers know, it’s not always easy to designate a practical place for such an appliance. Today, a number of brands offer incredibly compact wine refrigerator options, ranging from those that can cool as little as six bottles.

Most of these petite-sized coolers are made especially for fitting nicely on (or under) a standard countertop:

• For above-counter wine storage, Summit offers a small wine chiller that cools eight bottles at once. It only weighs less than 30 pounds and includes upright storage for the bottles as well.
• For those wine lovers with slightly more available space, the most popular option is a built-in wine cooler. You have many brands and models to choose from, but Avallon and EdgeStar are the two most popular brands for undercounter wine fridges. And when you have little space, a thin and dependable wine fridge is going to be your best bet. Start with this 13″ from EdgeStar or this 15″ from Avallon.
• Finally, this countertop wine cooler from Vinotemp is another popular option for small spaces. With a dual-pane glass door and sleek mirrored trim, this unit can store up to 12 bottles of wine and sit right on your countertops. That’s not the best feature, though. It’s also a dual-zone fridge, which allows you to store both red and white wine inside at their ideal temperatures.

Stylish Wine Bottle Racks: Just the Right Size

If your apartment can’t accommodate a wine refrigerator, there is still an array of other viable options for storing wine. When choosing a wine rack that’s best for your needs, be sure to review the features carefully, as there is a wide selection of racks available on the market. Of course, wine experts suggest that the racks should be kept away from direct light, heat and in a place with low traffic in order to avoid any bottle breakage.

Click Here to View All Small Wine Racks

For the wine collector with limited storage options, these are a few wine racks that focus on style as well as function:

• Providing strategic stacking, the sleek, modern Vintageview wall mounted wine rack has a capacity of 18 bottles, holding them at a specific angle that ensures the corks will not dry out.
• Offering a cascading design, Wine Cellar Innovations has created a wine rack that cradles up to fifteen bottles and can easily combine with the brand’s other wine racks. Perfect for a countertop, this rack is a solid choice for storing within reach.
• Small yet elegant, the 4 Bottle Tilt rack is made by 2 Day Designs. This minimalistic rack is made from recycled materials from wine barrels. With clean, vertical lines, it holds the bottles at the perfect angle for storage and compliments any décor.
• Ideal for tabletops or countertops, the 2 Day Designs also offers a clever two-bottle wine rack that is made from reclaimed oak barrel staves. A conversation piece as well as a wine holder, this rack is self-balancing and allows the bottles to be stored at the optimal angle. Only 16 inches high and weighing seven pounds, it is available in seven wood finishes, including pine and caramel.

DIY Wine Storage: Creating Surprising Spaces

For the “do-it-yourself” wine lover, there is a multitude of space saving ideas that can be made using an array of materials (all at a variety of price points). Home designers agree that seeking unexpected spaces in your own kitchen (no matter how small) may work well for a wine rack. After all, as long as you can find space for a few bottles, you can create a personalized storage area.

Crafty wine lovers can visit creative websites, such as Pinterest, to view some intriguing and practical options (simply search for “wine storage in small spaces”). If you happen to currently have a bit of available space, a few potential kitchen storage ideas may be right in front of you.

For example, the slim vertical space between your cabinets and/or wall can be transformed into a floor to ceiling wine rack — one that stacks the bottles lying top of each other. A bottom cabinet drawer that usually holds dishes or pans can be reinvented to store wine bottles neatly in a horizontal fashion. Some wine collectors have used recycled wooden (or wicker) baskets or crates to create a unique, personalized storage container.

Finally, if you can devote a shelf in your full-size refrigerator to a few bottles, there are a number of smaller, modern wine racks can fit inside on the shelf.

DIY Project Idea: How to Make a 24-Bottle Wine Rack Storage Cube

Here is a quick video guide on how to create your own trendy wine storage rack that can hold up to 24 bottles.