Fabulously aged 1800s medium-sized French wine bottle holder (riddling rack)

Very usable wine rack, these are often much larger and too big be be useful in most homes, this great rustic wine bottle holder measures 73cm tall and holds 20 bottles of wine.

This wine rack had a long life in France as a riddling rack in a deep cellar, these are critical to the process of making Champagne. After the sparkling wine has aged the bottles placed in these racks at an angle ‘sur lie’ or ‘on the lees’ to collect the yeast and sediment in a bottle and the concentrate near the mouth of the bottle by being rotated a few degrees every day by a riddler.

This example came from a chateau in Saumur in the Loire Valley.

Period: 1800s
Dimensions: H: 73cm | W: 26cm | D: 12cm
Condition: Some wear commensurate with age (see photos)
Weight: 7kg