The wine lovers on your shopping list will be delighted when they re-ceive a bottle of a quality vintage packaged in one of these handcrafted presentation boxes. To achieve a charming, Old World appearance, I used a specialty lumber called wormy maple (sometimes called ambrosia maple). As the name suggests, the attractive marbled colour is created by an army of tiny worms that attacked the tree prior to harvesting. Don't be concerned, though: the worms are long gone.
Box basics
Wine bottles come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so take measurements of your gift bottle before you begin. My box was designed to fit a 750-ml bottle that's 12" long and 3" in diameter. Get started by cutting out the sides and ends of the box from 1/2"-thick material. Note that one end of the box is 1/2" shorter than the other, to provide clearance for the sliding lid.
Download the full wine bottle gift box plans here!
Next, prepare 1/2"-wide x 1/4"-deep rabbets on the edges of the end panels to join the corners. The bottom panel sits in 1/4"-wide x 1/4"-deep dados that's located 1/4" from the bottom edges. You'll also need another dado 1/4" down from the top of the box, which forms a channel for the lid. I completed all of this work using a dado blade installed in my tablesaw, but a straight bit and a table-mounted router with a fence also gets the job done. Next, cut the bottom panel and the lid to size from 1/4"-thick material. Apply glue to the bottom dados and corner rabbets then assemble with the bottom panel in place.
Easy accents
To enhance the box exterior, I added two narrow bands of decorative inlay made from a contrasting wood. I used purpleheart, but any material that complements the appearance will do. (See “Adding Stripes” on next page for help with this step.)
To create the support blocks that cradle the bottle inside the box, you need to make a couple of internal bulkheads. Lay out a curved recess on the top of each blank that's equal to the diameter of your wine bottle. Use your bandsaw to make the cuts, then remove the saw marks with a drum sander. Glue the support blocks into place; exact positioning depends on the shape and size of your particular wine bottle.
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