For a wine drinker, there seems never to be enough adequate storage space for the collected bottles. Some wine enthusiasts have constructed wine cellars in their homes for their better vintages, while others will have just a few bottles on hand kept on tabletop wine racks. If you’re looking for a place to keep a smaller collection of wine handy, you might consider a sideboard. This traditional dining room piece comes in scores of designs, some of which are perfect for storing the wine bottles you want close by for entertaining. We explored numerous sideboards that are available and have our picks for the best ones to store your favorite bottles of wine.
The best sideboards for storing wine in your home are:
- Click Clack Sideboard
- Mixcept Concise Wooden Sideboard
- Alpine Furniture Prairie Sideboard
- King’s Brand Jamestown Wooden Buffet
- ioHOMES Mendocino Contemporary Dining Buffet
Now that we know the best options for wine storage in sideboards, we’ll look more in detail at each one. You might also be wondering if the sideboard needs to match the dining room table or what else you should store in a sideboard. For the answers to these questions and more, read ahead in this post to see what we’ve discovered.
A Closer Look At Our Top Picks
1. Click Clack Sideboard
This piece has a rustic feel to it. Two spacious cabinets flank a large drawer, which sits above a built-in wine storage area. This storage space is capable of keeping eight bottles of your favorite wine at the ready. Larger than the average sideboard, Click Clack’s design is 63-inches wide and nearly 18-inches deep.
To view this item on Amazon, click here.
2. Mixcept Concise Wooden Sideboard
From Mixcept, we have a smaller sideboard at only 52-inches wide. While offering less overall storage than the Click Clack model, the Mixcept sideboard offers a larger area for keeping wine bottles. This wooden piece will allow for up to 12 bottles of your favorite reds to be kept nearby. On either side of the wine slots are cabinets with glass doors, each of which encloses a shelved storage space. Below the tabletop is one long, open space for storage.
To view this item on Amazon, click here.
3. Alpine Furniture Prairie Sideboard
Alpine Furniture’s model is the most spacious yet. This 72-inch wide sideboard has a wine storage rack centered between two storage cabinets. You’re able to keep up to 21 bottles of wine in this piece. Rustic in design and appearance, the Alpine sideboard has a tabletop made from reclaimed wood.
To view this item on Amazon, click here.
4. King’s Brand Jamestown Wooden Buffet
As you can see, the King’s Brand sideboard is built for server storage. With a 16 bottle capacity and plenty of shelving and cabinet room for keeping other beverage necessities, this model would be a great consideration for your den, office, or dining room.
To view this item on Amazon, click here.
5. ioHOMES Mendocino Contemporary Dining Buffet
If you’re looking for a sideboard that not only stores wine bottles but also has room for glasses, consider this model from ioHOMES. You’ll be able to keep six standard-sized wine bottles in this sideboard and eight to 12 wine glasses. This sideboard is smaller than the rest in this post, being only 47-inches wide.
To view this item on Amazon, click here.
Keeping Your Wines Chilled
Wine drinkers know that whites need to be stored cool and served chilled. Even some prefer their reds cooler than room temperature. Obviously, you won’t be able to accomplish this if the wine bottles are kept in the slots on your sideboard. Fortunately, wine coolers are inexpensive. Many models are made small enough to be stored inside the cabinet space of a larger sideboard. Let’s take a look at a few of the more popular wine coolers on the market today.
Schmeke Wine Cooler
This model cooler will hold up to 12 standard wine bottles. With dimensions of 17.32″ x 18.5″ x 20.87,” this cooler will fit inside the cabinet of many sideboards. It also comes with a lock.
To view this wine cooler on Amazon, click here.
Kuppet Beverage Cooler
From Kuppet, we have a wine chiller that will hold up to 19 bottles of your favorite white wines. This model is 18.5″ x 17.1″ x 20.3,” which would fit perfectly in a storage cabinet of your sideboard.
To view this wine cooler on Amazon, click here.
What Should You Store In A Sideboard?
The objects you store in your sideboard will depend on which room in your home you place it.
Buffet
If you are using the sideboard as a traditional buffet, many homeowners suggest keeping serving utensils, good dinnerware, and other things that might be brought out during special occasions, holiday dinners, or larger gatherings when the buffet is needed. Between these events, some will use the top of the buffet to set decorative items, vases with fresh flowers, plants, or other items to give the room more life.
Bar
If you are using the sideboard in a room as a bar, use the top of the sideboard to keep decanters of alcohol, bottles of mixers, and liquor. Use the drawers and shelves to store openers, coasters, jiggers and shakers, and other bar tools that you’d use when entertaining.
TV Stand Or Dresser
Should your sideboard be used in a living room or recreation room, consider keeping DVDs and Blue Rays, video game discs, and other entertainment miscellanies. Sideboards have also been known to come in handy in guestrooms, as they offer a great place to store extra linens for the guest.
Does A Sideboard Have To Match The Table?
As most dinette sets do not come with a sideboard, you might be hunting for one that perfectly matches the furniture in your dining room. This isn’t as necessary as you might think. Sideboards are great accent pieces and need not match the dining room table. The most important thing when it comes to pairing these two pieces of furniture is their heights.
For a uniform look, you’ll want to have a sideboard that is at least four inches taller than the dining room table. Considering that most dining room tables are 30 inches tall, look for a sideboard that is at least 34 inches in height. As most sideboards are at least this high, you shouldn’t have a problem achieving this.
Does Wine Need To Be Stored Lying Down?
Ensuring that your wine is stored properly is vital to keeping your favorite vintages drinkable. Temperature, humidity, and length of time for storage are also important for keeping your wine investment safe. How the bottles are positioned is only part of proper wine storage but an important component, nonetheless.
Wine experts urge you always to store wine bottles on their sides, lying totally horizontally. If the bottles are kept standing in an upright position, the cork won’t get any moisture from the wine in the bottle. Laying down your wine bottle keeps the cork constantly moist so that it won’t dry out. A dried-out cork will allow for air to slowly seep into the bottle, causing oxidation. This process will alter the taste of the wine at the least and totally spoil it for drinking in more severe cases.
In Closing
For wine lovers, a sideboard is a great piece of furniture to have around your home for entertaining. Many models come with ample storage for small collections of your favorite vintages, and many also offer additional room for keeping your glassware and bar tools safe. Whether you place your sideboard in your dining room, office, or den, you’ll be able to utilize it in any number of ways for years to come.