I am always trying to think of creative gifts for people this time of year. People have so much “stuff” that it can be difficult to find something the person will like.

I have a sister in law and her husband who enjoy drinking wine. But, they always have their one or two bottles of wine sitting on the counter. So instead of buying her a wine rack. I made a pallet wall mounted wine racks. And I spent nothing on it. Yes, you read that right. Not one cent was spent on thisDIY wall-mounted wine rack made of pallets, just my time and love was put into this gift.

Materials to Make a Wall Mounted Wine Rack from Pallets

x1 palletpower drillstainchop sawSawzallmeasuring tape

How to Make a DIY Wall Mounted Wine Rack from Pallets

I got a pile of wood pallets a few months ago. They sit in my garage, the pile is slowly shrinking with each project I do. This one is no different. Deciding on the size was the first step. I could do the whole length of the pallet, or in half. My sister in law likes her wine, but most of the time there is just a bottle or two in her home, she is a one glass a night kind of girl. So a large pallet wine rack was not needed.

Step One: Cut the Pallet

Knowing I am going to use a smaller portion of this large pallet, I cut the bottom half of the pallet in half. This would allow roughly three bottles of wine and about four glasses to be held in it. I cut it by using a sawzall (a handheld machine saw). Moving it along where the outline of the wine rack will be.

I needed to repair and add some nails to the newly cut wine rack. The pallet is a bit roughed up. So with it having to hold wine and glass I wanted to make sure it was sturdy enough. Adding a few nails here and there to toughen it up.

Step Two: Cut the Bottle Holder

Using a left over board from the pallet (one not included in the wine rack) I cut it to size to sit on the bottom of the wine rack. Making it possible to set wine bottles in it.

If you are looking for a simple project, you could stop here. There would be no glasses hanging, but this could still be a nice wine rack for the bottles of wine. I wanted to add the wine glass rack as well to the bottom. To achieve this I need to create a space between the bottom of the rack and the top of the bottle rack. I cut some smaller pieces from a left over board. Two for each side and nailed them to the edge of each side.

Step Three: Cut the Stemware Holder

Using the same length as the bottom of the wine rack, I cut another board to be the wine glass rack.

Step Four: Measure for the Stemware

The goal is to make wide slits, where the glass stem can slide in and sit when not in use.

I did this by, measuring a standard wine glass, seeing how big the base is. Then marking where each slit could go on the board, leaving enough room for the base and stem to not overlap each other. Marking where the lines could go, creating 4 slits for the wine glasses.

Step Five: Cut the Holes

Using a mitre saw, lining up my mark for the slits. I cut about halfway down the board. Using this saw I had one side cut, then taking it and cutting the other side. Creating the needed space for the glass to slide in.

Step Six: Drilling the Holes

I wanted a way to secure the glass once it slid in. So creating a larger circle at the end of the slit was the plan. This way the glass can slide in and be secure within the larger hole until use. I used a standard drill, but added a larger drill bit to the end of it. Slowly drilling a hole into the board, right at the end of the already cut line.

Step Seven: Nail Together

Making sure the lines fit properly, were drilled enough and the glasses could fit in. I was done building this. I nailed it together.

Step Eight: Start Staining

Time to make this really rough piece appear more rustic, and not thrown out trash. Staining of course is the way to do this. Because this is just really rough pallet wood I needed to sand the whole thing. This allows any grime to get off. As well as softening up the wood itself to take the stain.

How to Stain Wood for Your Wall Mounted Wine Rack?

Setting it on a piece of metal, so the stain does not get everywhere. I take my gloved hand, holding a soft cloth and dip it in the black wood stain. This is still rough wood, so using more stain then usual was necessary. Wipe it going from side to side.

There were some spots I had to move around the cloth a lot more, covering grooves or crevices. Once that was done I still wiped the cloth along from side to side. Making sure there is as little brush and wipe lines as possible.

I did one coat and let it dry. The way to know it is dry its how it feels. If the stain is not dry it will still feel slightly sticky. And if it is not dry you will get stain on you or whatever it touches. So back away and leave it alone.

TIP: I also added a clear polyurethane coat to this once the stain was dry. This allows the stain to seal, prevent damage to it, and keeps the stain from bleeding onto anything else.

How to Hang a Wall Mounted Wine Rack?

To hang this up I would recommend, drilling hole through the wine rack and then screwing a long screw into either a 2×4 in the wall. Or using wall anchors and then screwing it in. You want to make sure this is secure enough to hold the weight of wine and glasses.

I have not given this to my sister in law yet, but I feel like I did good. She is into rustic home decor, has a lot of dark wood and this is something she will use. I considered going with the whole length of the pallet, but it would take up a lot of space. This is a smaller option, but still makes it functional enough to hold the wine.

This project is really simple for anyone to do, using things most people through out (wood pallets) and creating something functional and pretty is a DIYers dream.