Wall-Mounted Vertical Wood Wine Rack

Want a unique and stylish place to put your bottles? Not only is this wine rack a great space saver, it will bring the wall quite to life!

What you need
Two 2" x 4" wood beams, 6 feet long (I used cedar)
Wine or champagne corks to counter-sink the holes
Optional: Pieces of scrap wood for 5 degree wedges

Hardware
Drill bits
Fastener bits
Four 4" wall screws
Stud finder

Tools
Drill press
Hand sander (with sandpaper: 320, 220, and 120 grit)
Hand file
T-square
Optional: Miter saw (for making the wedges)

THANKS TO: TechShop where I made this wine rack (http://techshop.ws)

Use the hand sander to sand all 6 sides of the wood.  Also take the edges off for a smoother feel.  I used 120, then 220, then 320 grit, and the boards became quite smooth.

You're going to be drilling 2 wall holes and 12 bottle holes.

Wall holes
On the "front" edge of each board, mark a hole in the middle 4" from the end.

Bottle holes
The bottle holes are going to be at a 5 degree angle to help keep the bottles in straight, so you'll be drilling half from either side -- MAKE SURE THEY'RE STAGGERED.

Also, due to the diameter of wine bottles, the holes should be closer to the edge of the board away from the wall.  Center the holes 1.25" from the edge using a T-square.

On both sides of the board, plot these holes:
  - Mark the first hole 8.5" from the end (and 1.25" away from the front of the board)
  - Mark another five holes every 5" after the first (and 1.25" away from the front of the board)

The bottle holes should be at a 5 degree angle to help keep them from slipping out.  To do this, you either need blocks to raise the board on either side, or preferably, wedges to support the beam.

Creating the wedges is straightforward on a miter saw.  Just set the saw to a 5 degree angle, and cut two wedges out of any scrap wood.  These will go under the board in the vice.

You can see the wedges under the board in the image.

Use a long 1/4" bit to drill guide holes.

For the wall holes, drill all the way straight through the board.

For the bottle holes, use the wedges to angle the boards, then drill guide holes through at each of the marked spots.

Using a 1.25" fastener bit, with the board on the 5 degree wedges, drill the holes.  If you drill all the way through, it will tear out some splinters on the far side.  It's best to drill most of the way, then flip the board to finish the hole OR put some wood under the board.

Make sure you're alternating the angle!!

Use a 1/2" fastener bit to counter-sink the wall holes a little less than halfway through the board.

Use the hand file and, if needed, the hand sander to smooth the holes and any splinters on the boards.

I used a teak oil to bring out the color and finish the wood.  Feel free to use a polyurethane, stain, or whatever you think will look best.

Find studs and mount the wine racks to the wall!  Use wine or champagne corks to fill the counter-sunk holes; you may need to file them down some.

Add bottles and you're done!  Wine bottle necks can vary in size, but some rubber bands on the necks will help them stay.  I also added some beer bottles for fun.

Enjoy!