Buying Guide
How to Store Wine Glasses Without Chipping Them
Where damage actually happens — the sink, the second row, the rim — and the racks that stop it.
By Alper Billik, Advanced Sommelier15 years serving wine
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Short on time? The sommelier’s picks
Free-standing stemware drying rack
AmazonCheck today’s priceTwo-tier cabinet shelf riser
AmazonCheck today’s priceUnder-shelf stemware holder
AmazonCheck today’s price
How we chose
Storage advice online is mostly about fitting more glasses into a cupboard. That is the wrong problem. Glasses are damaged at three specific moments — on the draining board, stacked in a second row, and stored rim-down — and every pick here targets one of those. Ranked by how much damage it prevents.
Price level: $ budget · $$ everyday · $$$ mid-range · $$$$ premium. The buttons show today’s price on Amazon.
- 01
Best overall
A free-standing stemware drying rack
$$
Best for: The moment glasses are most likely to break
More stemware is destroyed on a draining board than anywhere else in the house. Glasses get stacked against each other, a stem takes the weight of a bowl, and something goes. A rack that holds each glass upright and separated removes the whole failure mode. If you buy one thing off this page, buy this.
- 02
Best for cabinet depth
A two-tier cabinet shelf riser
$$
Best for: Tall cupboards holding short glasses
Most kitchen cabinets have far more vertical space than a wine glass needs, so people stack a second row of glasses on top of the first. That is how rims chip. A riser gives you a genuine second shelf, so nothing rests on anything else and you can reach the back row without moving the front one.
- 03
Best under-cabinet
An under-shelf stemware holder
$$
Best for: Small kitchens with no spare shelf
Slides onto the underside of an existing shelf and holds glasses by the base of the foot, hanging. It buys you storage where there was none. Read the caveat below before you buy — hanging is not right for every glass, and it is definitely not right for a wide Burgundy bowl.
- 04
Best for real protection
A padded stemware storage case
$$
Best for: Glasses you use twice a year
If you own good glasses you only bring out for occasions, the cupboard is the wrong place for them — they collect dust, pick up cupboard odour, and get knocked when you reach past them. A divided padded case keeps them clean and separated, and it doubles as the thing you transport them in.
- 05
Worth adding
Glass-safe grip gloves
$
Best for: Washing up, and wet hands
A wet hand on wet crystal is the other common way a glass is lost. Textured, glass-safe gloves cost very little and change how securely you hold a bowl in a sink. Unglamorous, and the kind of thing you only buy after you have broken something expensive.
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Store them the right way up
The most common piece of storage advice is also the worst: turn your glasses upside down to keep dust out. It does two things wrong at once.
It puts the rim under load. The rim is the thinnest, most brittle part of the glass, and stored rim-down it carries the entire weight of the bowl against a hard shelf. Every time the cupboard door shuts, that contact point takes a small shock. Chips almost always start there, and a chipped rim ends the glass — you cannot drink from it.
It traps stale air. An inverted bowl seals a pocket of cupboard air inside it for weeks, and that is what you pour wine into. See why your glasses smell like the cupboard — it is a far more common cause of a spoiled glass of wine than most people realise.
Store upright, on a clean shelf, with a finger's gap between glasses so nothing touches. If dust is the concern, the answer is a closed or glass-fronted cabinet, not an inverted glass.
Never stack a second row. Glasses resting on other glasses is the second commonest source of chips. If the shelf has spare height, use a riser and make it a real second shelf.
On hanging racks. They work, and they save space, but not for every glass. Hanging holds the glass by the foot, which is fine for a light universal bowl and poor for a heavy Burgundy bowl, where the weight hangs on the stem joint permanently. Hanging racks also sit in the open, so glasses collect kitchen grease. The full comparison is here.
Wine glass storage — FAQ
Should wine glasses be stored upside down or upright?
Upright. Storing rim-down puts the thinnest, most brittle part of the glass under the full weight of the bowl against a hard shelf, which is where chips start — and a chipped rim ends the glass. It also seals stale cupboard air inside the bowl. Store upright in a closed or glass-fronted cabinet if dust is the concern.
How do you stop wine glasses chipping in a cupboard?
Three things: store upright, leave a finger's gap between glasses so nothing touches, and never stack a second row on top of the first. If the shelf has spare height, add a riser to make it a genuine second shelf rather than resting glasses on glasses.
Are hanging stemware racks bad for wine glasses?
Not inherently, but they suit some glasses and not others. Hanging holds the glass by the foot so the bowl's weight rests permanently on the stem joint — fine for a light universal bowl, poor for a heavy Burgundy bowl. Hanging racks are also open to kitchen air, so glasses collect grease and need washing more often.
Where should you not store wine glasses?
Above or beside the hob, where airborne cooking fat settles inside the bowl and slowly goes rancid; in a damp or sealed cabinet, where trapped air gives the glass a musty note; and in their original cardboard packaging long-term, which transfers a distinct cardboard smell.
What is the most common way wine glasses get broken?
On the draining board, stacked against each other after washing, where a stem takes the weight of a bowl. A rack that holds each glass upright and separated removes that failure mode entirely and is the cheapest protection you can buy.