A Collection of Custom Wine Crates

Original wine crates are excellent as authentic, wine-themed interior decorations; but they (ironically) may not always be ideal for storing wines. This is especially the case when you try to place wines from Napa Valley inside of a Bordeaux crate.

Napa Valley makes wine bottles in different shapes and sizes, so they may not fit perfectly inside of a wine crate made for a specific shape and size. Unfortunately, a Napa bottle that is 1/4" of an inch larger than a Bordeaux bottle could prevent that Napa bottle from fitting inside of a Bordeaux wine crate.

It's because of this that we started making custom, personalized crates for our clients:

The above picture is a custom-made crate for Time Warner. The crate was then given to it's clients as part of a gift set.

We also are able to make standard wine crates as well. Below is a custom made 12 bottle crate made for Stonefire breads:

This is a very unique crate because it keeps the rustic charm of an original with the addition of brass handles on both short sides. The plan was to make a wine crate into a vintage bread box.

There are also different lid types that a wine crate can have. Below are some examples:

Standard (Lid sits atop the crate without being attached):

Slide-top (Lid slides out from one side):

Hinged (Lid flips upward and has latches on the back side):

Each style of lid is genuine to the way wineries make their crates, but the cusomization options don't end there..

We offer the highest level of quality and service available. The wood we work with is artisan-class, and it is a nearly perfect pine. We hand-pick our wood pieces, prepare the wood with two seperate applications of sanding and ensure that each of our pieces are durable enough to last for a lifetime.

We also offer a suite of creative services to deliver solutions. If you have a logo or design, send it to us via e-mail. We will take that logo/design and engrave it on the same wood we would use for your crate. Once the proof is done we will e-mail you a picture. Work begins only after your approval of the proof.

If you need help designing a logo, or aren't sure of the type or size you need, it's no problem. We will work with you from A-Z. We guarantee your satisfaction.

Visit us at: www.winepine.com



All About Wooden Wine Crates (OWC's)

Original wooden wine boxes and wine crates (OWC's) are made by individual wineries to store and protect their high value wines. Generally, only the finest marquis wineries produce wine crates. The vast majority of wine makers store their wines in cardboard boxes.

Wine crates include a lid (top or cover):

And inserts:

Inserts come in cardboard or wood. The inserts keep the bottles still in the crate

The average dimensions of a 12 bottle crate: 19 1/2" L X 13" W X 7" H

The above are 12 bottle crates, but there a few other sizes. Below is a 6 bottle crate:

The average dimensions of a 12 bottle crate: 13" L X 11" W X 7" H

The most alluring quality of original wine crates are their logo designs. Most wineries have unique pictures that are engraved on each of their crates. Many of these logo designs were inspired by historical events, priceless artwork, and breathtaking imagery of thousand year old castles or vineyards.

There are many countries that produce wine, and in those countries are wine making regions.

The most commonly known country with vineyards that make wine crates is France. The region of Bordeaux makes the highest volume of wine crates in France. Second to Bordeaux is Burgundy.

Wine crate from Burgundy:

*The quick way to tell that this is a Burgundy crate is by reading the text on the crate. The word Bourgogne is a dead giveaway. Some wineries don't include wording, but this strategy works 60% - 70% of the time with crates from Burgundy.

Bordeaux vineyards have been making wine crates for a great many generations. Most of the wine crates from Bordeaux are 12 bottle sized.

Bordeaux wine crate:

*Bordeaux crates almost always list their repective sub-regions. In this case you are able to see Saint-Emilion on the top of the crate. St. Emilion is a very famous sub-region of Bordeaux.

Most of the crate pictures above are 12 bottle crates except for the Brunello Di Montalcino.

12 bottle wine crates are designed to hold twelve 750 ML Bordeaux style wine bottles. Bordeaux bottles are all vitrually identical in size. This is because of the AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlee). The english translation is essentially Original Appellation Control. This was established as a means to keep all Bordeaux wineries as consistant in winemaking as possible.

Bordeaux wine bottle sizes (90% of the time are): 12 1/4" H X 3 1/8" W

There is a common misconception that all 750 ML wine bottles are the same size no matter where they are from. This is not the case. Napa Valley vineyards for instance are not held to the standards of the AOC. They can change anything about their wines at any time. This includes the width and height of their bottles at any time.

This was one of the major reasons we began custom-making wine crates for our clients. More on that later..

Visit us at: www.winepine.com