Sunday, July 31, 2016

8 Most Artistic Wooden Wine Boxes


Without a doubt the most artistic wine boxes are my favorite. I enjoy looking at their designs and artwork. I love it when they're in good shape and can be refurbished to near-perfection. It's not always easy for us to sell them because it's like having to part with nice paintings that beautify your home. Offering great wine boxes is passion of ours though, so every wine box you buy from Wine Crates and Boxes you get to share in that same inspiration.

In any event, here's the 8 wine boxes with the most artistic designs and artwork.

Delas Hermitage (Rhone, France)

Hermitage is the Grand Cru class single vineyard of the Delas winery. The artwork design of the logo is small but intricately detailed. 

Groth Reserve (Napa Valley)

Groth is one of the few cult wineries from the US that received 100 points from their Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine box has a beautifully engraved picture of the estate and vineyard engraved on it's flip-top style lid.

Louis Jadot (Burgundy)

One of my favorite designs (and usually wine).  A case of a Grand Cru from Louis Jadot may include the gorgeous wooden wine box. The short side of which has the vineyard's exquisite cherub angel logo branded on it.

Olivier Leflaive (Burgundy)

Another Grand Cru of Burgundy which has a large picture of the estate embossed in a red color. Definitely a work of wine art..

Domaine Faiveley (Burgundy)

Not all Domaine Faiveley wooden wine boxes are made the same. This particular one has a very large and beautifully detailed picture of the vineyard.

Domaine Jacques Prieur (Burgundy)

Wooden wine boxes from Burgundy have either very simple or very high detail designs. There's usually no in-between. The Domain Jacques Prieur is an example of one with great artwork on multiple sides. 

Chaleur Estate, Delille Cellars (Washington)

I believe that Chaleur Estate is the only vineyard in Washington State that makes wooden wine boxes but it's a doozy as far as designs go. It's also very rare. This is the only one we ever acquired..

Nickel & Nickel (Napa Valley)

Possibly the most sought-after and famous Napa wine boxes. It has an intricately detailed picture of the vineyard's house on both the front and back of the flip-top style lid. The short sides have carved handles with deeply engraved Nickel & Nickel writing. Both the wine and the box are works of art.

At the moment we have about 2-3 of these wine boxes in stock and that changes on a regular basis. The Napa's are always difficult to procure, so if you like any of these let me know. If and when they come in we can reserve them for you.

Patrick
914-565-0134


Monday, July 25, 2016

Domaine Romanee Conti Wooden Wine Box


The most famous winery in the world is Domaine Romanee Conti (DRC). It's located in the Burgundy region of France, and produces the most sought after wines next to Chateau Petrus. If it's offered at auction it's usually the wine that fetches the highest price. It's so rare that it's not available outside of exclusive events. In order to receive in invitation to stay at the DRC vineyard you have to be a dignitary or very famous person (Heads of state, the Pope etc).

The wine is a work of art. Each grape from their perfect single vineyards are chosen by hand. The wine making process they created in the 11th century is the same they use today. There's nothing else like it.

DRC produces wines from 7 single vineyards on it's property:
  • Romanee-Conti
  • La Tache
  • Richebourg
  • Romanee-St-Vivant
  • Grands Echezeaux
  • Echezeaux
  • Montrachet
The single vineyard style is a much-copied process among premier wineries. Most vineyards plant the same grape varietals on only one very large plot. Single vineyards however plant slightly different grape varietals in specific sections of their property. This creates subtle differences in each wine depending on soil types and location of each individual plot.

Enough about the wine though, lets talk about their wooden wine boxes!

The few they make are also works of art. The DRC logo is large and ornate. It's a few inches bigger than a traditional wine box from France, and it also has a different way of protecting it's bottles. Instead of inserts they use decorative excelsior shred to cradle them. This gives an elegant and old world feel to their presentation.

All four sides are usually branded with deep engravings, although only the front long side has the design logo. The other sides have importer text as well as details about which single vineyard the wine was from.

Since so few cases of DRC wine are made every year, the wooden wine boxes are scarce. They're always kept by the collectors to keep bottles in their best possible condition because they're so valuable. Having the wine in it's original box increases auction prices so it's an investment.

Getting one in the open market is extremely difficult. Out of a thousand crates that come to us only one is a DRC. We have a waiting list on them, so if your interested please let me know and we can add you to it.

Patrick
www.winecratesandboxes.com
518-475-8625
sales@winecratesandboxes.com

Sunday, July 17, 2016

8 Most Popular Wine Crate DIY Ideas


Most of our customers buy wine crates for 1 of 4 reasons:
  • Wine cellar or wine room storage/shelving
  • To enhance the look of their hospitality business (Hotel, wine store, restaurant etc.)
  • Home decoration
  • DIY projects like the ones shown below
Wine crate projects can be anywhere from easy to advanced. For example, to make floating shelves is easy. All you need is a hammer, some nails and a level. Simply nail the crates to the wall and make sure they're straight like your hanging a painting.

Another example of an easy DIY with wine crates are table centerpieces. All you have to do is place the fruits, flowers or succulents inside the wine crates and arrange them nicely.

One of the most fun projects is the shadowboxes. This is because there's so many wallpaper styles to choose from, and it allows you to mix and match different contrasts to find the right one for you.

Some of the more advanced projects include the wine crate tables and shelving. If your handy it's no problem, but if your not it's best to seek help from a woodworker or carpenter.

The advanced project I like most is the bedside table. Although I do enjoy the rustic charm wine crates give to a home accessory, something about the sleek look of that piece makes me want to own it.

Somewhere between easy and advanced is the bookcase. You'd need alot of wine crates to make that happen, but they're all held together by binder clips which looks simple to do. I haven't tried the project myself but supposedly it works well. If you decide to do it please let me know how it went.

What's great about wine crates is that no matter the difficulty level, the project is going to enhance your decor. It doesn't have to be perfect either because the vintage beauty is built right in!

Floating Wall Display

Bookshelf (Attach Crates w/ Binder Clips)

Shadowboxes (Wallpaper backing) buzzfeed.com

Table Centerpieces

Wine Crate Dresser w/ Rope Handles - espiritcabane.com

Industrial-Style Wine Crate Table - Lepetitemonster on etsy

Bedside Table w/ Wine Crate Drawers

Chest of Drawers - blogs.cotemaison.fr

Buy wine crates for your own unique DIY project at www.winecratesandboxes.com or give me a call!

Patrick
sales@winecratesandboxes.com
518-475-8625
www.winecratesandboxes.com