Storing Krug Bottles?

[Izzy Nosnik]

Forgive my ignorance if this has been posted before, but I had a hard time finding the proper search terms...

So I have always kept my Krug bottles in boxes at storage or on a single layer rack in a wine fridge. I am moving wines into a cellar and obviously the bottles don't fit in any racking for 750s. My next thought was to put them into diamond bins but the way they are shaped, they tip forward. The same thing happens when I try to stack them on a flat shelf.

I just looked back at my photos from when I visited Krug and the way they stack bottles in their cellars involves wooden shims and some special metal racks for their pre-disgorgement bottles. The library wines seem to be stacked in just flat but I can't see how they are arranged in this pic and I haven't been able to make it work (see below). Anyone have a good solution that doesn't involve taking up my precious few magnum rack slots?

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[D@vid Bu3ker]

Notice that they are stacked base out. In that arrangement it does not matter if they tip "forward."

[Fred Bower]

A bin with a back wall will let the tipping be ok. Alternatively, if you were to construct a bin (perhaps from an empty wooden case) that is tilted at a 45 degree angle, you could have the bottles live in the shelf/bin in a permanently-tipped orientation with either cork down if you want them wetted or cork up if you believe the wetting isn't important for the time horizon they'll live in the bin. If you do the empty wine box option, you may have to lay the bottles in sideways if you don't want them to stick out out past the case walls.

fred

[Sarah Kirschbaum]

It's a challenge for sure. We had custom racks built for champagne bottles, and for magnums, but I'm guessing that isn't an option for you right now?

[Brad England]

I use empty OWC's in my cellar.

[Izzy Nosnik]

Sarah- Racks are built, so that ship has sailed unfortunately. I was expecting some issues with bigger bottles but figured I gave myself enough shelf space and diamond bins to stack others. Maybe I'll try a backstop and see if that works to avoid the tipping issue.

And to compound it all, mags of Krug are even more of a problem because the diameter of the bottle is larger so the tipping forward is even more of an issue.

I was thinking about creating some sort of bar to place under the bottle necks and create a "pseudo-rack" to avoid the tilting/tipping. Just didn't want to reinvent the wheel if someone already had a viable and simple solution to the problem.

[Sarah Kirschbaum]

In that case, I'd go the case/OWC route, as Brad says. You'll still be able to get to them when you need them, I'm sure. Not worth the risk of something tipping.

We were crazy scrupulous about getting the racks the right size to hold what we have, including Krug mags and Riesling mags. I even had to post a thread a couple of weeks ago begging someone to measure a Krug magnum for me (ours are all in storage) before we finalized!

[David Glasser]

My Krug mags and some of the 750s are stored on the floor in the original cardboard case. I have yet to find a way to stack them on shelves so they are stable. However, looking at the pic you posted, it appears that they alternate neck in/neck out, though they also appear to have their own slots. I wonder if alternating orientation would be a stable configuration on flat shelving.

[garrett devries]

Some of mine are in the original cardboard cases and some are in magnum slots. My lone mag of 1996 Krug is simply standing up as if it is display bottle. Storing Krug is an enormous pain in the neck.

[scamhi]

I keep my Krug bottles in the Krug boxes that they came in. They also fit in Comtes 6 pack boxes.

[Fred C]

It's a challenge for sure. We had custom racks built for champagne bottles, and for magnums, but I'm guessing that isn't an option for you right now?

Also trying to have custom racks built for Krug mags and this is one of the few leads to pop up on google search.

What size racking did you end up using for your Krug mags?

Thank you!

[David Gerstenfeld]

I have to stagger my Krug mags with other mags in my mag racks. They would need to be about 2-3 inches wider to accommodate.

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[Fred C]

Troubled Alan W for the measurements and he got a little over 4 3/4 inches for the mags and a little under 3 7/8 inches for the 750ml.

[Sarah Kirschbaum]

Troubled Alan W for the measurements and he got a little over 4 3/4 inches for the mags and a little under 3 7/8 inches for the 750ml.

Fred - I think my row for Krug mags is 5" square. I can measure in the AM. We put in one row of extra large, along with the normal size magnum racks, specifically for Krug, Taitt CdC and Special Club mags. So far, all have fit, but they would definitely not have fit in the slots for normal mags.

[Doug Hein]

Champagne bottles are always messing things up! I’ll stack a layer across the diamond bin with necks to the wall, and then a layer on top of that with necks outs. Old OWCs should be able to be repurposed too.

[alan weinberg]

It's a challenge for sure. We had custom racks built for champagne bottles, and for magnums, but I'm guessing that isn't an option for you right now?

Also trying to have custom racks built for Krug mags and this is one of the few leads to pop up on google search.

What size racking did you end up using for your Krug mags?

Thank you!

just shrink wrap your pallets.

[alan weinberg]

I have double deep magnum bins. The neck of the bottle in back fits into the punt of the front bottle and holds it up.

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

I just stick mags in vine vault boxes without inserts, 6 per box.

[Tom G l a s g o w]

I just stick mags in vine vault boxes without inserts, 6 per box.

Translation flat 12 bottle boxes

[etomasi]

I use weinboxes for most of my aging champagne. Krug fits, but i need to prop up the neck with a piece of styrofoam. I have a a couple open top racks where I can fit bigger champagnes.

[Kelly Walker]

Kind of awkward but stable...until I pull out a bottle and then its like playing Jenga. It works better to intersperse the Krug bottles with others.

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

You can do 4” tubes for Krug as well. I use those in my le cache

[William Kelley]

If you have bins that are deep enough to head-to-tail bottles it works pretty well. That's how they are able to stack bottles "sur pile" in the cellars of the Maison.

Alternatively, one should just drink exclusively '70s and earlier Krug, before the introduction of the new bottle shape.

[alan weinberg]

Kind of awkward but stable...until I pull out a bottle and then its like playing Jenga. It works better to intersperse the Krug bottles with others.

hope you don’t live in California. One little quake and you are swimming in Krug.

[B. Buzzini]

[Scott Watkins]

Buzz always has the correct answer, but I'm saying that purely out of jealousy!

[alan weinberg]

party at Buzz’ place—Krugathon, but I do see those 2 Dom 08 mags also!

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

Mine isn’t as pretty, just big stacks of 12 btl lay flat boxes in. corner of the cellar.

[Alex N]

I wish I had Krug storage problems. But yeah, square boxes ftw.

[M Nichols]

Holy sh*tfire Buzzini. Nothing like seeing other collections to make you feel modest about your own.

I also have a variety of sized bins, but didn't size for Krug.

[Barry L i p t o n]

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For home storage, I had a couple of custom drawers built.

[Kelly Walker]

55F2EA85-6B97-4AE3-B694-CEB74C4F515F.jpegFor home storage, I had a couple of custom drawers built.

Love that idea.

[JimV]

After probably 15 years of lurking, maybe I finally have something worth posting.

I store bottles like Krug by buying PVC pipe that is just barely bigger than the bottle width, cutting them into lengths that match the depth of my bins, and putting them into the bin like so. They fit sufficiently tightly in the bin that they don't wobble, and thus the bottles don't wobble either.

[p. raghib]

After probably 15 years of lurking, maybe I finally have something worth posting.

I store bottles like Krug by buying PVC pipe that is just barely bigger than the bottle width, cutting them into lengths that match the depth of my bins, and putting them into the bin like so. They fit sufficiently tightly in the bin that they don't wobble, and thus the bottles don't wobble either.

Welcome Jim, always nice to see lurkers convert

[Karl K]

Indeed!

[Marshall Manning]

After probably 15 years of lurking, maybe I finally have something worth posting.

I can't afford Krug, but my guess is that you probably have a lot more to contribute if you've been drinking wine and watching online for more than 15 years. The more people who contribute here, the better !

[AndrewH]

I have double deep magnum bins. The neck of the bottle in back fits into the punt of the front bottle and holds it up.

So does that mean drinking them two at a time?