DIY Wine Bottle Tiki Torches

Hey there friend!  I have a treat for you today.  Anything that involves wine, recycling, & a DIY project is gonna be right up my alley.  I’m sure you’ve seen these tiki torches done so many ways all across the web, but I’m going to show you the quickest, easiest, cheapest version of a DIY wine bottle tiki torch any wine lover could ever ask for.

You can make these in just 5 easy steps – and in less than 5 minutes, not including the time needed for step 1.

Step 1: Buy the wine, drink the wine & save the cork for another project on another day.

Step 2 (optional): Remove the labels & rinse the empty wine bottle.  The easiest way I’ve found is to score the labels, spray WD40 (or soak in hot water) & let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then peel off.  If there’s still some adhesive left, use a scraper or paring knife to scrape it off.

The top label around the mouth of the bottle will come off easily – cut a little slit in the bottom of it & it’ll tear right off.

Step 3: Purchase a brass coupling or hardware flange to fit over the mouth of the bottle – 3/8″ x 1/2″ & glue it down (this step is optional – it will still work without gluing it down).  Here’s what I used – I got this at Ace Hardware:

Step 4: Fill the wine bottle with torch fuel using a funnel, slide the wick through the coupling down into the bottle.  Make sure the wick is sitting in the torch fuel.

Let it sit long enough for the wick to get saturated – the wick will absorb the fuel & it will “travel” up the wick until it’s completely saturated.  You can see a slight yellowing to the wick as this happens but you can touch the top to see if it’s wet.  Just make sure you wash your hands really well if you touch it.

You could also just try to light it.  It should light quickly & easily if the wick as absorbed fuel up to the top.  If it doesn’t it’s not ready yet.

Step 5: Light & Enjoy!

A few tips – avoid these little mistakes I made trying to rush the already super quick process:

1. 1. Always fill the bottle & let the wick soak up the fuel.  I’ve seen people pour the fuel over the wick but…
      1. it will take FORever to fill the bottle this way and
      2. it will be hella messy – trust me I tried.  (but you could pour a little over the top after you’ve already filled the bottle, just to get it going a little quicker)
   2. For adding the wick, you can do it 2 ways
      1. slide the wick through the coupling 1^st, fill the bottle with fuel, then place the wick coupling assembly on top.  Using this method, you would NOT glue the coupling to the bottle.
      2. Glue the coupling to the bottle & slide the wick in/out as needed.  I tried both ways & so far I’ve seen no difference, but I have to imagine that this 2^nd method is better & more stable.
   3. The wick really should be long enough to touch the bottom of the bottle.  I didn’t think about that when I bought the wicks on a whim during one of my Target runs.  Standard size is 9″, but for wine bottles it should 12″.  Amazon sells kits for this, but they drive up the cost a little.  They also sell longer wicks & bulk wick in rope form that you can cut to any length you want.
   4. You could also do this with beer bottles, vases, or any heat proof container really.  Get creative with it & have some fun!
   5. Don’t overthink it.  Seriously.  When I got the coupling, at first I was going out of my mind because I wanted it to sit down inside the mouth of the bottle & be a perfect fit. When it didn’t, I went searching for something else that would.  I decided to open up another bottle to sip on while I {completely} over-analyzed the situation, when I realized I just needed to flip the dang coupling over & keep it moving!  You don’t have to use the same hardware I did – it’s only there to hold the wick tight so as long as whatever you use isn’t flammable you’re good!
      
      Talk about analysis paralysis!  Just relax, drink more wine, & make cool stuff.

Here’s how it turned out!  I only made 2 for our patio, but now I’m thinking we could use a bunch.  Especially for our next outdoor soiree.

So what do you think… like it?  Do you think you’d want to do something like this sometime, maybe for a party or just hanging outside with the fam or that special someone? Pin it for later!