Thursday March 12, 2009 - Wine Storage-
Selecting wine cellar racks and wine cellar designs
Wine storage racks are the cornerstone of just about any cellar, whether for your house, restaurant, retail store, or vacation property. Intended for both protecting and showcasing your collection in style, they are an important furnishing that you wouldn't dare overlook. They have to be strong enough to safely hold the combined weight of your precious bottles, and be pleasing to the eye. Wall wine racks need to be secured in place with the appropriate fasteners to ensure the entire thing doesn't come crashing down once loaded up. Likewise, wine glass racks hold equally valuable items and showcase your stemware in style. Some types may be combined with wine storage racks, which are ideal when space is limited and you have a smaller inventory to deal with.
You may already have a clear idea of what you are searching for when shopping for wine storage racks. If you aren't so certain, it may be helpful for you to first identify the primary purpose you wish to achieve. Do you seek pure utility, or is a certain style that blends in or compliments your existing d?cor more important? Would wall wine racks be more suitable? Perhaps you are looking for wine glass racks to conserve room in your bar or kitchen. Chances are good you can find the perfect mix and won't have to compromise to fulfill your needs and desires. Unlike the limited selection your local merchants may carry, the wide variety of online retailers combined with full manufacturer product lines, are sure to accomplish your goals and turn your vision into reality.
An important aspect of wine cellar designs, one must take into consideration both the wine cellar racks and other items such as the primary wine cellar equipment. It may be beneficial to determine what your needs are, before even getting into budgeting or space restraints. Are you looking for something that is purely a utility room to safely stock your inventory, or do have grand plans for an extravagant - yet well planned and fully functional - and luxurious cellar that will proudly showcase your prized collection prominently on custom built wine cellar racks. Whichever you choose, it pays to do you research and explore the many options available to you.
Some people may caution you not to rush out and purchase all your wine cellar equipment until after your basic plan has come together. However, thought should be put into some of these key items as large items like refrigeration, bottling and dispensing units, and other accessories may in fact consume large areas of space. Good wine cellar designs should incorporate all aspects of the final vision, and assist in producing a functional and appealing room that you can get maximum enjoyment from. Simply filling a room with some expensive wine cellar racks and putting bottles on them won't wow your guests or magically increase the resale value of a property. Taking the time to seek out quality furnishings and find attractive prices that meet your budget will pay off in the long run once your vision comes to fruition.
Super savings for residential and commercial applications can be easily found online. If you want wall wine racks that are custom built, or would prefer a modular system that can be changed as your collection grows, I encourage you to explore the wide range of styles, materials, and designs showcased online by some of the leading manufacturers of wine glass racks.
About the Author
Michael Boyce is a regular contributor to wine-cellar-racks.com, a consumer's resource to wine cellar racks, winemaking kits, equipment, accessories, gifts, books, artwork and tours.
Another short Wine Storage review
Wine Is Good For You!
In the 1990?s a news report, later titled the ?French Paradox?, was brought to the public eye after researchers discovered that the French who live on...
Click Here to Read More About Wine ...
Wine Storage Items For Viewing
Lauren Ralph Lauren Latham Wine Glass, 16oz., Set of 4
More product information
WINE SIGN SAVOIE 12 OZ, CS 2/DZ, 09-0369 CARDINAL INTERNATIONAL GLASSWARE
Metrokane 6-Piece Deluxe Rabbit Wine Tool Kit
Not familiar with the award-winning Rabbit corkscrew? Invented by Metrokane designer Ed Kilduff, the long-"eared" Rabbit removes a cork from a wine bottle in just three seconds. Squeeze and hold the Rabbit's handles around the bottle, push the lever down, pull up, and the cork is out. To remove the cork from the spiral, simply lower and raise the lever again. Hardened all-metal teeth on the gear mechanism ensure that the corkscrew will open up to 20,000 bottles (when the spiral is replaced every 800 to 1,000 pulls). Metrokane covers the Rabbit with a 10-year warranty against defects. --Ann Bieri
Customer Review: works great until it doesn't
This is a wonderful product initially. It's easy to use and the cork just slides out effortlessly. However, the screw that it uses soon wears out. This can happen in as little as 3 to 6 months or so depending on how much wine you drink. I assume that the teflon coating wears off or the tip dulls. In any event, it then becomes increasingly difficult to use until it starts pushing the cork in the bottle. They throw in one extra screw, but additional ones are outrageously priced--$10 on Amazon. Nice margin for the manufacturer. There were at one time Chinese knock-offs in the marketplace that had the same characteristics, but at least they were cheap, $10 or 15 if I remember correctly. This product costs a lot of money for its short lifespan.
Customer Review: How to use the Metrokane Rabbit
From a design standpoint, this is a very good product. But the documentation is pathetic, and was clearly never tested with new / real users. There is no explanation of how it's supposed to work. That understanding is very helpful: with it, you'll never have trouble, and will marvel at the clever design. Let's get started.
Have a bottle of wine handy on which you've already used the supplied (and very good) little foil cutter to remove the foil over the cork.
Take the unit in your hand and look at the movable parts. The overhead lever that swings outward / downward and then is reversed / brought back over the top - moves the spiral corkscrew up and down. To see this, operate the overhead lever with one hand while holding the clamping "side handles" with the other. When you move the overhead handle the corkscrew rotates.
Why is the corkscrew turning? Because it's forced to do that as it goes through a "guide" (the metal collar with gray plastic center). The gray plastic piece has an internal spiral track that forces the corkscrew to rotate as it passes through.
Here's the critical point: as long as the guide mechanism is locked in place and can't move up or down, the guide forces the corkscrew to rotate when going through.
What if this guide were locked in place on the `down-stroke,' but could move vertically on the `up-stroke'? Then the guide would force the corkscrew to rotate on the way down (so the corkscrew would penetrate the cork), but the guide would stay attached to (and _not_ rotate) the corkscrew on the way up - thus pulling the cork.
When the unit is operated correctly this is exactly what happens. But how?
Look more closely: Before using the Rabbit's `side-handles' to hold the wine bottle neck, the guide is locked in place by two protruding spring-loaded latches and can't move vertically. Try it: it won't budge. (You can actually see these small latches projecting over the top of the guide and keeping it from moving - by looking in the area above and to the far rear of the guide, near the smooth rod.)
On the other hand, when the clamping handles are squeezed onto the neck of a bottle, these latches above the guide _retract_, releasing their hold on the guide so it can move upward.
Do this now: Take your bottle of wine and, with the overhead lever rotated to its fully outward / downward position, place the guide directly over the cork and grip the neck of the bottle _firmly_ with the clamping side handles.
Look at the latches described above: they have retracted, and no longer restrain the guide from moving upward. This has no effect during the down-stroke / cork penetration phase, since the guide is already as low as it can go. Because the guide can't move, it forces the corkscrew to rotate when you operate the overhead lever - thus penetrating the cork. Perform this down-stroke.
Now watch what happens when the overhead lever is pulled back to withdraw the cork (while you at the same time continue to grip the bottle neck firmly with the side levers). Because the guide can now move vertically with the corkscrew, it imposes no rotation on the corkscrew. The corkscrew stays inside the cork as the overhead lever is moved outward / downward, and the cork is extracted. Do it. You now have the cork out of the bottle, suspended above the bottle neck, and are still gripping the side handles around the bottle neck.
Release your hold on the side handles and move the Rabbit away from the bottle. The cork is still attached to the corkscrew. Re-grip the side handles with one hand and once again operate the overhead lever, bringing it all the way back to its fully closed position again (as if you were on the original down-stroke into the cork).
As you get to the very end of the stroke, you will feel resistance and will hear a click: the latches have snapped back into place over the top of the guide, locking it in place. The guide is once again `captured' - and cannot move vertically. The cork is still attached to the corkscrew.
Finally, move the overhead lever back yet again to its fully open position (as if pulling the cork from the bottle). This time the latches _don't_ retract (because you're not using the side handles to grip the bottle neck) - so the latches again keep the guide from moving, and this forces the corkscrew to rotate `in reverse' as it passes upward through the guide. The corkscrew backs out of the cork and the cork drops off. It takes all of a few seconds once you get the hang of it.
Understanding the operating principles should help. None of this is well explained (or, indeed, explained at all) in the almost non-existent documentation.
Steve Ferris
More product information
Forum Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Vinegar - Imported from Spain
Customer Review: Great stuff.
The first bottle showed up broken, and they rectified this situation nicely (of course I didn't need 2 phone calls...just what we ordered). But it's the thought that counts. They went overboard to make sure we were happy.
And the vinegar is a gem. Try it on a steak on the grill!
More product information
Wine Guide
Tags: Wine Stores
Labels: Wine Storage, Wine Store
