The round, diamond tile/glass drill bit I think will do the job, I just haven’t bought one yet.

And, I have bottles coming out my ears! I have many friends who love wine. When I want larger bottles, I just hit up the local Safeway store and buy some cheap wine in the larger bottle for 3.99/bottle.

Mabcbch – thanks so much for that terrific comment! Short of using a drill, can you somehow notch the bottom of the bottle once cut in order to facilitate air flow?

Also, I’m sure many on this blog could help provide you some empties! Where are you located, generally? Otherwise, you might try a local restaurant and show them pictures of your craft (so they don’t think you’re a wine counterfeiter!). Or maybe even a wine critic or magazine in your area that tastes a lot of bottles.

To answer another person’s question, yes the bottles do get HOT when you use a flame candle in them. What I do is use battery operated “flameless” candles in them. Our local Dollar Tree store carries a 4” tall flameless candles. As soon as I develop a method that works good for me on drilling the additional air flow hole, I’ll switch to using taller flame candles. I have tried gluing the cabinet stoppers and they really don’t adhere well and I don’t like the looks of them on the bottle.

Bottle cutters are not really “cutters”. They etch. Then it’s up to you with hot water and ice to break the bottle apart. You can find bottle cutters at some Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, other craft stores, glass shops and they are available online. Here are the names of three. To find them, just google their name:
“Armour bottle and Jar Cutter”
“Ephrem’s Deluxe Bottle Cutter”
“Generation Green (g2) Bottle Cutter”

I use an Ephrem’s Deluxe Bottle Cutter and it works fine for me. I think it’s a matter of opinion on which will work best for you. How I do it:

STEP ONE: I remove the labels on all the bottles first by letting them soak in a sink of hot water for about 3-5 minutes. I remove any stubborn residue with “Goo Gone”.
STEP TWO: I then etch all the bottles I have to work with.
STEP THREE: I fill up my “whistling tea kettle” and once the water comes to a boil, I hold a bottle horizontally just a couple of inches above my kitchen sink and slowly rotate it by holding the neck of the bottle in one hand while pouring the boiling water from the tea kettle over the etch from the bottle cutter. After a few rotations, I put the kettle down and quickly take a piece of ice and rub it over the etch line on the bottle. Sometimes I will fill a pot with water that has lots of ice in it, and then put the bottom of the bottle just barely past the etch line in the ice water to break it apart. Sometimes this works instantly to break apart the bottle, and sometimes I have to repeat the heat/ice several times. The thicker the bottle, the longer to break it apart.
STEP FOUR: Use sandpaper on the cut edge to remove any sharpness to it.

For every 4 or 5 bottles I break apart cleanly, at least one will instantly develop a crack going up towards the neck of the bottle. It’s just the way it is when you work with glass.

Everyone has their own method of doing what I just described, but the boiling water/ice water method works best for me.

One last thing, I don’t drink enough alcohol to get as many bottles as I want so I have asked all my friends to save me their wine bottles which they gladly do.

Sediment – Yes, I noted that typo too. And which do you prefer: a “Bordeaux francese” or a “Bordolese prima”?