It’s a simple system; I start at the top, and keep filling, one bottle at a time.  But how do I handle wine bottle rotation?

An alternate system would be to number each spot on your wine rack, and the bottles could be placed in a spot, and your database would keep track of the “hole in the wall”, not the bottle number.

That system is too complicated for me, and I’m always afraid I’ll lose track of a bottle.  My system is simple.  However, a simple numerical system has one big disadvantage: empty holes.

Empty Spots in the Wine Rack

After a few months or regular wine drinking, there are lots of empty spots in the wine rack.  In my case, most of my wine deliveries occur either in the spring or fall.  I live in Canada, and overseas wineries do most of their wine shipping during the moderate temperature months, during the mild spring or fall, not during the heat of the summer, or the freezing cold of the winter, since the wine would be more likely to spoil.

So, at the end of a long winter, before many of the new shipments arrive, I’ve got lots of empty space.  Here’s what I did this year:

First, I looked in my wine inventory database and marked every wine bottle remaining that should be consumed this year.  I moved all of those bottles to a separate section of my basement wine cellar.  They will be easy to find, and since I they won’t be around a year from now, I won’t have to move them again.  I made three sections; one each for reds, whites, and rosé.  Each wine is arranged numerically in it’s section.

Wine Rack with all spaces filled

Then, I took the remaining wines, and moved them to their appropriate place, to fill up all of the holes.

As you can see, all spaces are now filled, and all wine bottle tags are easily visible.

I thought about creating another section for wines that are intended for “laying down”, that will be cellared for five or more years, so that they would not need to be moved again next year.  I don’t have that many bottles, so I decided to keep it simple.  I have one section for “drink this year” wines, and all of the rest are arranged in numerical order.

My plan is to fill the holes by moving up the bottles twice a year: once in the spring when the new shipments arrive, and once in the Fall as more shipments arrive, and I get ready for a long winter.  That’s my wine bottle rotation plan.

There are two obvious choices: you either label each bottle, or you label each spot on your wine racks.

A simple labeling system for your wine racks would be to number each column, and assign a letter to each row.  The upper left spot for the first bottle of wine would be 1A; below that would be 1B, and so on.  The advantage of this method is you can fill in whatever hole you want.  You simply note in your wine cellar inventory management system the rack location for each bottle.

I chose the other option: I label each bottle.  I started by writing the bottle number on the top of each bottle, but that’s not a great option if you even want to give a bottle of wine as a gift.  No-one wants to receive a bottle with a “623″ marked on the top.

My next approach was to use mailing labels, like you would put on an envelope.  I could use my wine database to create the labels and then print them.  Unfortunately, the problem was the same; it’s hard to remove a label if you want to give a bottle away.

Finally I found a great solution: wine bottle tags.

I purchase my from Uncork, a company based in Australia.  (I live in Canada; they ship anywhere in the world, and I’ve had no problem getting them, so don’t worry about where you live; they ship to you).

Wine Bottle Tag

I use Uncork’s Wine Bottle Tags.  You can find out more about Uncork’s wine bottle tags on their web site.  They are in sheets of twelve tags.  I’ve configured my wine database to print my labels on my printer.  You can also hand write them with a Sharpie, or a pen.  You then rip them apart, and slide them over the next of the wine bottle.

They are printed on a flexible paper, laminated so that they won’t degrade in the humidity of your basement wine cellar.  (I actually have no idea how they do it; it’s not really laminated, since you wouldn’t be able to write on them if they were).

I have used the tags for many years, and they work great.

NOTE: I have no affiliation with Uncork; I am not a paid endorser; I get nothing from them.  I just like their product, which is why I mention it here.

Here’s more information, and a link to their web site: