A storage system for wine bottles is provided that includes at least a portion of a wine barrel. A front head plate of the barrel is provided with multiple openings that are sized to receive the wine bottles to be stored. Support members of various designs are associated with each opening to extend lengthwise through the barrel interior to hold one or more wine bottles. The storage system may be provided in a variety of sizes that include full, half, and third-barrel sizes. A climate control system may be associated with embodiments of the storage system. The storage system may be provided with one barrel or a plurality of barrels arranged in various stacked configurations.