In article ,
says...

I used poplar and shellac to get the result below. 'May- or may not be
to your liking (I realize you are building something rather different)
but it's worth a look:

http://www.tundraware.com/Woodworking/WineRack/



Looks nice Tim. There really is no stain on that rack? It's a very
nice color for the normally bland poplar, and I'm surprised you could
get that color with just shellac and wax. If the color is all from the
shellac, what color shellac did you use, and how many coats?

Thanks,
Mark