New and cheap Wine barrel rack - is it worth?

[sanketsao]

Hi,

I have been planning to setup a wine cellar in NOTL and found this innovative wine barrel rack made from aluminium rather than galvanized steel. I found http://www.hamillmachine.ca/wine/wine_barrel_rack which shows several advantages of it. I need expert advise about Aluminium wine barrel rack based on above link.

 

[itch]

Only great advantage is the aluimnium will still be strong hundreds of years later.

 

[goosen1]

It's light and also it will not rust. I would really look into it more and ask them what wineries use them. Call the wineries and ask them how the like them and how they hold up to their barrels. Ask them if they are durable and solid. If so, It will be a great investment.

 

[sanketsao]

Well, their testimonials page shows vincorinternational, a child of famous constellation brand..so not sure If its good to call directly such a big brand.

 

[sanketsao]

Thanks Itch and Gosen, I called Hamill Machine for aluminium wine barrel racks and they pointed me to some of their customers. I called http://www.pondviewwinery.com/ and after discussion with them and several othe wine consultants, these are my final conclusion:

1. The price is $30-40 on higher end as compared to galvanized steel one but around $70 cheaper than stainless steel
2. The aluminium std. double barrel rack is around 30kg lighter and hence good for movement and maintenance. Since my wine cellar is new, I am sure there will be lot of shifting and movement and which would cover my entire cost.
3. Its highly reliable as its free of rust. Large winery end in US go for stainless steel to avoid rusting in long term but aluminium gives that advantage at lower price.

I also found a great article from famous winebusiness that shows many other companies supplying such innovative racks.

 

[goosen1]

That's a good find! Now only if I get that far in depth with winemaking, I know what to get for future investments

 

[Honda88]

stainless steel is stronger then aluminum, but aluminum is lighter, I used to run a CNC plasma cutter. If your planning for your rack to be around after your dead then get SS.

 

[sanketsao]

Thank you all for the help!!

 

[TangoBrew]

Hi, Just saw this thread last year. We purchased around 20 Aluminium Racks and manageability has been very convenient. Moreover, they Hamill Machine also customized and gave it for same price as they are make to order.