Double-ladder wine rack

Sunset, July, 1986

Double-ladder wine rack

Designed so you can see the labels without removing the bottles, this rack holds up to two cases of wine. Chris Cressman of Seattle designed and built his rack from red oak, but almost any wood will do.

The rack is 15 3/4 inches high and 22 inches wide and is screwed to the back of a 12-inch-deep bookcase.

Constructed like a double ladder, it is composed of side rails supporting front and back rungs. To hold the rungs in place, Cressman cut notches into the front and back of the rails, spaced as shown below. The tight-fitting pieces were clamped and glued together. After the glue had dried, Cressman sanded the wood, then applied three coats of semigloss lacquer.

The rack holds all common types of 750-ml. wine bottles.

Photo: Labels forward, rack's contents are easy to see; four levels can hold two dozen bottles

Photo: Offset rungs in front and back of end rails wedge bottles in place at the neck. All wood is 3/4 inch thick