Most wine collections start in a rack in the kitchen or a few boxes under the stairs. That is fine for a dozen bottles you will drink this month, but once the collection grows it needs a proper home, somewhere it can be stored well and seen properly.

I have been designing, building and fitting joinery across West Sussex, East Sussex and Surrey since 2010, and wine rooms are some of my favourite jobs. Some are a full room lined with racking, some are a glazed space off the kitchen, and some are a single wall of storage in a dining room. This post covers what I talk through with clients before I draw anything, so you know what to think about and what to ask for.

Storing or showing?

The first question I ask is what the room is for. Most people want a bit of both, but where the balance sits changes the design.

• Long term storage. If you are laying down wine to age for years, conditions come first. The room needs to stay cool and stable, and the racking is about capacity and keeping bottles lying flat.
• Display. If you want the collection to be seen, the room becomes a feature. Lit shelves, glazed doors and bottles shown label out are part of the look.
• Entertaining. Some clients want somewhere to choose a bottle with guests, with a tasting surface, glass storage and space to open and decant.

A lot of rooms end up as a mix: bulk racking for the everyday and the bottles that are ageing, plus a few feature shelves at eye level for the special ones.

Temperature, humidity and light

This is the part people most often underestimate. Wine keeps best somewhere cool, dark and steady, with no big swings in temperature through the day or the seasons. Most collectors aim for somewhere in the low to mid teens Celsius, with a bit of humidity so the corks don’t dry out.

If the room is a true cellar or a north facing space that stays cool naturally, that might be enough. If it is a room in the main house, or a glazed space off a warm kitchen, it will need a cooling unit. I work alongside specialist installers for the climate control side, and plan the joinery around it from the start, with space for the unit, ducting and access for servicing.

A cooled room also needs to be properly sealed and insulated, with a well fitting door. It is much easier to plan this before the joinery is designed than to fix it afterwards.

Light matters too. Direct sunlight and strong UV are bad for wine, so if the room has windows or a glazed wall, it is worth thinking about where the most valuable bottles sit.

Racking and capacity

Before I design the racking, I want to know roughly how many bottles you have now and how many you expect to have in a few years. It is much better to build in room to grow than to run out of space in the first year.

• Individual bottle racking. Each bottle has its own slot. Easy to see what you have and pick out a single bottle.
• Bulk bins. Larger diamond or square bins that hold several bottles of the same wine. Good for cases and everyday bottles, and they hold more in less space.
• Display shelves. Angled or label out shelves at eye level for the bottles you want to show off.
• Case storage. Deep shelves for unopened cases, usually lower down.
• Large formats. Magnums and bigger bottles need larger slots. If you collect them, I size a section specifically for them.

I size the racking to the bottles you actually buy. Burgundy and Champagne bottles are wider than a standard Bordeaux bottle, and a rack built to one standard size won’t take them all.

Cabinetry, glassware and finishing details

A wine room is more than racking. The cabinetry around it is what makes it a room you want to spend time in.

• Glass storage. Cupboards or open shelves for glasses, decanters and accessories.
• Tasting surface. A counter or worktop at a comfortable height to open bottles and set glasses down.
• Wine fridges. If you want whites and sparkling ready to drink, a built-in fridge can be fitted into the cabinetry.
• Lighting. Low heat LED lighting along shelves and racking shows the bottles off without warming them.
• Doors. A glazed door or glazed wall lets you see the collection from the next room. For cabinetry doors, I covered the options in my post on choosing a door style.

Working with the room

Most wine rooms I build go into spaces that were never designed for them.

• Under the stairs. A cupboard under the stairs can make a great small wine store, with racking that follows the slope.
• Spare rooms and box rooms. A small room, sealed and cooled, can hold a serious collection.
• Cellars and basements. The natural choice if you have one, as the temperature is often already cool and steady. Damp needs dealing with before any joinery goes in.
• Off the kitchen or dining room. A glazed wine room next to where you eat becomes a real feature.
• Alcoves. A wall of wine storage either side of a chimney breast in a dining room. I covered alcoves in more detail in my post on alcove units.

As with everything I build, the units are made square in the workshop and scribed on site to follow the walls and ceiling, so there are no gaps.

Materials and finishes

Inside a cooled room, the materials need to cope with cool, slightly humid air. For racking I use solid timber that stays stable in those conditions and doesn’t give off a strong smell. Natural timber racking also looks right with bottles in it.

For painted cabinetry outside the cooled area, such as glass cupboards and surrounding units, I build from MEDITE MR, a moisture resistant MDF that machines cleanly and takes a spray finish well. Everything is sprayed in my workshop in whatever colour you choose.

I also build in solid oak, walnut and American tulip, or veneered boards with solid timber edges, finished in a hard wax oil. A timber tasting counter alongside painted cabinetry is a combination that works well.

How I work

I run the business on my own, so you deal with me from the first visit to the final fitting. There is no showroom, no salesperson and no subcontracted joinery team.

• Site visit. I measure the room, look at how it will be cooled and sealed, and talk through your collection and how you want to use the space.
• Design. I draw the room to scale so you can see the racking, cabinetry and capacity before anything is made.
• Workshop build. Everything is made and finished in my workshop.
• Installation. I fit everything myself, scribe it to your walls and ceiling, and coordinate with the cooling installer so it all comes together.

You can see more of my work on my wine storage and wine rooms page.

FAQ

Do I need a cooling unit for a wine room?
Not always. A cellar or a room that stays cool and steady all year may be fine. A room in the main house, especially one off a kitchen or with glazing, usually needs one.

How many bottles can a wine room hold?
It depends on the size of the room and the mix of racking. Bulk bins hold more than individual slots, so I balance the two around your collection.

Can you build wine storage under the stairs?
Yes. Racking can follow the slope of the stairs, and it is a good use of a space that is often wasted.

Can the racking take Champagne and magnums?
Yes. I size the racking to the bottles you buy, with larger slots for wider bottles and large formats.

Do you cover my area?
I work across West Sussex, East Sussex and Surrey from my workshop in Upper Beeding. If you are not sure, send me your postcode.

Thinking about a wine room?

If you are in Sussex or Surrey and your collection has outgrown the kitchen rack, get in touch. Send me a photo of the space and a rough idea of how many bottles you have, and I will let you know how I can help.