Where I come from, wine is a specialty drink. Bottles of it cost $7 and up. You can get cheaper, but you get what you pay for.

Not in Italy. Sure, there are fine wines costing an arm and a leg. But there is also vino sfuso. The biggest vino sfuso operation I've seen is the one at the Museum of Wine in Manduria, home to Primitivo di Manduria.

You not only get a glimpse of wine production in the good, old days, but you can also taste some fine bottled wines.

Or you can step up to the pumps, declare your favorite wine, and a very nice woman will stick a nozzle in your bottle and off you go with 5 liters of your choice.

So, you want to save money on your Itlalian vacation? Just rent a vacation home in the heart of Pulia and get your wine where it can cost less than a Euro/liter.