This free wine rack plan is a great way to store your wine in your home. A wine rack is an easy DIY project that can add character to any room and show off your favorite bottles, in addition to giving you a dedicated storage space. Wine that is corked, as opposed to screw-top, is best stored on its side, so a DIY rack gives you a place to store the bottles safely, and to preserve the wine at its best until you’re ready to enjoy it. In this post, we’re bringing you a vertical design that can be mounted to a wood-framed wall, or even at the end of a kitchen island.
What You’ll Need To Build Your Wine Rack
We’re using a simple piece of plywood for the panel of the rack, which can be designed and finished any way you like, and dedicated wine pegs to support the bottles. Richelieu’s wine peg options come in a variety of materials and finishes, and can be attached to different panel materials, in addition to wood: MDF, acrylic, metal and even stone. They come with all the necessary hardware to install them to your panel, including connector bolts and spring blocking rings, guaranteeing that your bottles will stay put.
For this design, we’re using Richelieu’s Leggero Wine Pegs, which come in either a matte black or raw aluminum finish. At over 7”, these pegs allow you to store your wine bottles in the standard wine storage layout, with the bottle tops facing outward. This design is for storing eight bottles, requiring 16 pegs. But if you want to store more and make a longer wine rack, simply purchase double the number of wine pegs as bottles you want to hang, and adjust the dimensions of your panel accordingly, using the instructions below.
DIY Wine Rack – Tools and Supplies:
- 16 Richelieu Leggero Wine Pegs
- 16 1 19/32” JC-B connector bolts (included with wine pegs)
- 16 3” hanger bolts (when attached, the threads should extend 3/4” to 1” through your plywood)
- 3/4” thick plywood measuring 15” wide x 9” long
- Drill and #1 drill bit (for standard 1/4” 20 bolt)
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Safety gear
Prepare Your Panel and Wall Surface
This design has four bottles on the top row and four on the bottom, using a pair of wine pegs to support each bottle. To ensure your wine rack is secure, your wine pegs and panel should be attached to wood framing with hanger bolts, either on your wall, or another area such as the end of a wooden kitchen island.
First, mark where you’ll be inserting your 16 hanger bolts on your wall or other vertical wood surface. For the precise placement of each of your hanger bolts and corresponding holes in your wine rack panel, refer to the diagrams in the instructions for the Leggero Wine Pegs.
Following the above diagrams, you’ll leave approximately 1/2” of space from the left and right edges of your wine rack panel. The first row of pegs will be 3 3/4” from the top of your panel. Space each pair of pegs 2 1/2” apart. The next pair will start 1 1/4” from the first. Using your markings, drill your hanger bolts, 16 total, leaving at least 3/4”, and at most 1”, of thread on your hanger bolts to securely attach your wine pegs. Then, mark the corresponding spots on your wood panel, and drill the 16 holes in your panel.
Attach the Panel to the Wall
Hang your drilled panel by threading each hanger bolt through the holes, and attach the wine pegs with the spring blocking rings included. Each peg also has two rubber rings on it, to help keep the bottles in place.
Note: Another option to hang the panel is to use Z-clips instead of hanger bolts. Follow the instructions and diagrams from Richelieu here to use Z-clips. These instructions can also be used for other models of Richelieu wine pegs that are being secured to a panel.
When You’re Looking to Expand Your Collection
If you’re getting more serious about your wine collection, and ready to move it into your basement or cellar, check out Richelieu’s wine rack options, which come in kits that can store as few as eight bottles, and as many as 422.