The Company

In 1983 Jim Phoenix went shopping for a wine rack and was disappointed in finding only poor quality metal wire racks and pine racks, which were stapled together. Having worked with wood, he worked on various styles in oak and finally satisfied, had a handsome 12 bottle unit in the living room. That was far from the end of the project because a leaky cork left a large red blemish on the beautiful carpet that could not be removed. The design was conventional with the cork facing downward. How disappointing after all that work!

Jim pondered the problem and with his engineering background, knew there had to be a better way. Through experimentation, he found that at an angle of 14.3 degrees above horizontal the air bubble moved from the neck of the bottle to the shoulder thus forcing the wine to the cork, keeping it wet. It worked with both Bordeaux and Chardonnay style bottles. This was how the new design came to be and the reason our logo shows the bottle at an angle. The design provides the additional benefits of having the sediment stay in the bottom of the bottle and the labels more easily read.

As with many success stories, neighbors and relatives wanted a Wine Display and the uniqueness, handsome styling and rugged construction propelled the 1983 shopping disappointment into a flourishing business. Many of the most recognized wineries in California and Washington have carried Phoenix products in their gift shops, as do fine wine and gift retailers across the country. But the real kick for us is the individual contact with our customers and our commitment is to never grow to the point that we lose sight that the company was built one unit at a time.