Find the bottle, without the excavation.

Give each storage area a name, use one direction for rows and columns, and update the record when a bottle moves or leaves. A searchable list is only useful if its location leads to the right shelf. Organising by grape or region comes after making the physical positions unambiguous.

The free planner above maps slot states: Empty, Everyday, Drink soon and Hold. It saves locally in this browser and can print or export the map. It does not store bottle identities, calculate drinking windows or synchronise a live collection.

Check Measured Bottle Clearance

The clearance checker above compares your actual bottle’s widest diameter and full length with the rack’s usable width, height and depth. Choose whether the bottle lies along the depth or stands upright, then enter the allowance you require per side. The total reserved space is twice that allowance on every axis. No example bottle dimensions or default allowance are assumed.

Measure the narrowest opening, including rails and obstructions, rather than the cabinet’s outside size. A result that meets your allowance still needs manual checks for support, neck and label contact, doors and retrieval. The check covers a single straight bottle envelope, not angled storage or multiple bottles behind one another. Measurements save separately in this browser; the original slot-map CSV remains available alongside a separate clearance CSV.

The bottle-dimensions and rack-fit guide explains where to measure and how to check wide bottles and magnums without relying on nominal capacity.

Choose Coordinates Before Moving Bottles

Name locations in a way another person could follow: Main rack, Wine fridge and Offsite case are clearer than “other place”. On each rack, count rows from the top and columns from the left. Label that direction physically if there is any chance of confusion.

Use Main / R1C2 for row one, column two. A case can use Offsite / Case03, with a quantity rather than pretending it has individual rack slots. A loose magnum might use Box / M01. The coordinate should describe the storage you have, not force every bottle into a standard-sized hole.

A Five-Bottle Map

This fictional collection shows why wine identity and location are separate fields.

The inventory template holds the wine details alongside the coordinates. If you group several identical bottles in one row, the quantity and location must still tell you where all of them are.

Mark the Job of Each Slot

Build a grid that matches one rack, then cycle its slots through the four states. Use Everyday for bottles you comfortably reach for, Drink soon for those you intend to prioritise, and Hold for bottles you have a reason to keep. These are your planning categories, not maturity results generated by the tool.

Leave enough empty space for the next purchase or a temporary rearrangement. There is no universal correct percentage: a rack that receives whole cases needs more room than one that changes bottle by bottle. Keep large formats in suitable storage rather than squeezing them into a convenient diagram.

Use the drinking-window checker to inform a cautious readiness decision. Then mark the map yourself. A slot marked Hold does not establish that its bottle was stored well.

Keep Three Changes Accurate

A purchase: assign its destination before putting it away. If a case is split, record each location and its quantity.

A move: update the old and new position together. An extra row is not an extra bottle unless you actually bought one.

An opened bottle: remove it from current stock and keep the tasting in a separate history or journal. An empty position should remain available for its next occupant.

Print or export a dated copy after a meaningful rearrangement. Browser storage can be cleared, and a local map is not a backup in another place. Follow the storage guide for the wine itself; accurate coordinates do not protect bottles from heat or poor conditions.

When a Cellar App Adds Value

Official documentation checked on 5 October 2026 illustrates two different approaches. CellarTracker uses bottle-level Location and Bin fields; InVintory’s Premium plan adds physical 3D VinLocate. Choose by the storage you need to navigate and the updates you will maintain, rather than the most elaborate picture.

Sommo’s Premium cellar connects actual wines, quantities and positions to readiness and owned-bottle pairing. Download Sommo when you want the slot map to lead to a wine record, while keeping this free planner as a simple way to sketch the layout.

A coordinate identifies a place; a bottle label identifies an object. For bottles that need their own identity, follow the individual bottle-label workflow before printing codes or choosing a scanner.