Wine storage racks made of wood have been around for many hundreds of years.
They probably originate from around the same era that it was decided that cork was the right thing to use as a bottle stop and cork was first used by the wine growers in France at the end of the 17th century. To protect the taste of the wine before that time, rags soaked in oil were used. Funny but I cannot seem to think that having oily rags stuffed in the top of the bottle could improve the quality .
Very little was known in those days gone by about the storing of wine. A wooden wine rack was simply used for convenience in the wine cellar then.
Still after all these years with so many advances having been made in technology wood has remained the favourite choice for the material that wine racks are made from. Several different types of wood have been used over time. Oak is probably the most common but pine, mahogany and cedar have also been used.
I find it difficult to understand that if the bottles are stored on racks made of wood or metal, the taste will be different. Wine connoisseurs feel differently though. It is almost always wood for them, they simply would not use anything else.
So if you choose wood wine racks you can portray to your friends and family that you too are a connisseur. They will appreciate that you want to carry on the long traditional way of storing wine.
For the wine producers who store a massive amount of bottles in their enormous wine cellars after growing vines in the vineyard, harvesting them and processing, wood has another unusual benefit.
It is an excellent material as it provides an ideal environment for growing mould which is really important for a maturing bottle of wine.
The more mould that exists, the better proof that the wines are older. Experts can age a bottle of wine by looking at the amount of mould on it. Do not worry though. It does not get into the wine and you do not have to drink it ever.
Make sure that you choose a rack where the style and colour fits in with the general decor of your kitchen or whatever other room you want to keep it in. If it compliments the colour of the wine as well so much the better.
Choosing the right kind of wine storage racks can be good fun but not as much fun as drinking the wine afterwards.
