While most people associate wine connoisseurs with sophistication and elegance, there are still a large number of wine lovers who are able to not take themselves so seriously. They don’t have to drink wine out of expensive glasses. Their glass stems (if they exist at all) are typically adorned with whimsical wine glass charms. They will buy wine for the novelty of the label, not necessarily the vintage or reputation. They have a deep love of and appreciation for wine, but they also know how to kick back and have fun.
To honor the eccentric flairs and specialized tastes of the unique individuals, there are plenty of funky wine racks available today, and still more ways for you to find a truly unique way to express yourself.
Novelty Wine Racks
Some of the funkiest wine rack designs on the market are the novelty racks. While most of them are technically not racks (they are designed to hold single bottles on most occasions), they do represent some of the most charming, outrageous, and amusing wine accessories available.
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Often coming in at under $20 and easily found online or at your local bed, bath, and kitchen store, these novelty wine holders make the perfect gift for any occasion, including housewarmings, birthdays, or at Christmas time.
For wine lovers who enjoy food as well, the most common novelty wine holder is the portly Italian chef. With his classic uniform, puffy chef hat, and signature towel on one arm, he puts up a seemingly impressive struggle to support your wine bottle that happens to be significantly larger than he is. Other food related holders include a picnic basket in which the wine bottle is nestled for storage, and a collection of grapes bunches, designed to surround your wine bottle with colorful representations of the source from whence it came.
Cater to Your Hobby
For wine lovers with even more specialized hobbies, there are a variety of funky wine racks that include a large bass fish, designed to hold the wine bottle in its gaping mouth, or a gallant deer, able to hold one or more bottles of wine nestled in its antlers. Animal representations are, in fact, quite common themes for novelty wine holders. Anything from playful otters to polar bears might be made into a wine holder.
For fun wine rack designs that are capable of holding multiple bottles, other unique shapes tend to take center stage in the funky category. Southwestern motifs can be complemented nicely by a cactus shaped wine rack, nestling bottles within its various branches. Sports fans can have a football goal stand, complete with end zone base, designed to stack bottle between the uprights. Egyptian lovers can have their very own pyramid, complete with individual compartments for individual wine bottles stacked all the way up to the apex.
Minimalist Wine Rack Designs
With regard to single bottle wine holders, minimalist design themes are extremely popular. Often comprised of somewhat wide bases, the actual support for the wine bottle is designed to be fairly thin, giving the impression that it technically wouldn’t be able to support the weight of the wine. The design of these funky wine holders, however, creates the perfect blend of balance and stability to give the single support structure all it needs to keep your wine bottle firmly in place.
These designs can resemble anything from a tidal wave, cresting high to support the bottle, to a link chain, gathered in a pile at the base with a single chain rising to provide support. Another common variation features decorative bases with clear acrylic support structures for the wine bottle itself. From a distance, these give the impression of the wine bottle simply floating in mid air, offering a unique and mesmerizing accessory for your kitchen or dining room.
Plastics Galore
One of the most unlikely materials for wine racks is actually one of the most popular for funk wine rack designs. Plastic wine racks are some of the most popular styles in modern wine rack design, also prized for their naturally funky nature. Emphasized even more by unique shapes and bright colors, plastic wine racks offer an affordable work of art, that just so happens to hold your wine as well. They can range from a series of round tubes stacked together at odd angles, designed to hold wine bottles in an asymmetrical fashion, to plastic rectangular cubicles, stacked every which way but straight, offering a variety of odd angled nests in which to store your wine. For the most part, if you take any wine rack design, make it out of plastic, and add a splash of color, you have an instantly funky wine rack to proudly display and convey your unique personality.
If you’re not quite for the plastic rainbow, clear plastic and acrylics can create a similar striking effect. Whether the entire rack is made from clear plastic, or simply a portion of it, adding a clear plastic element will again create the illusion of suspension. Clear plastic wine racks are also ideal for minimalist designs, offering a full view of the wine bottles themselves with little emphasis placed on the actual wine rack. These racks are very popular in wall mount designs, further emphasizing the effect that clear plastic can have when used in a support structure.
Going Green
More traditional looking designs can be made from recycled aluminum cans, rubber tires, or even heavy duty cardboard. While the design may be traditional in nature, the look and feel of recycled materials tends to carry a very unique look and feel, helping them to fit nicely into ecclectic interiors.
A large variety of the wilder side of wine racks come from re-purposed and recycled materials. Some are more artistic in nature, created as one of a kind pieces by artists known for taking non traditional materials to make traditional objects. These can be built with a variety of materials, ranging from old muffler pipes for the car lover, to a recycled ski for winter sports fans.
Since these one of a kind pieces tend to carry somewhat of a steeper price tag, there is the do it yourself option. If you have a bit of artistic talent yourself, you’d be surprised at how many wine rack ideas you can come up with sorting through boxes of old junk in the garage or scoping out local yard sales. A few nuts and bolts, maybe a bit of adhesive, and perhaps a coat of paint and you could have your very own homemade funky wine rack.