I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the relative
humidity of a cellar and look good.

The just ignore the humidity issue. Basement humidity is not nasty enough to
rot just about any wood with a little finish to seal the grain. Wood
movement is not really an issue with a skelletal wine rack design.

As others have said, contain the cost by finding a locally available
(harvested), common species. In the NE USA, that would be Oak/Maple, Cherry
or Walnut if you want to move up-market. Poplar would not be my choice as
It's a bit on the soft side.

Pine is not an option.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the look and you would have to up-size the
components a bit to accomodate all that weight. IMO, good plan; avoid pine.

suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

Where are you?

_Steve



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