The following has nothing to do with the decades-long north-south "debate" in Italy. Moreover, I do not offer any kind of enological expertise but, rather, a simply superficial piece of advice that may satisfy both the palate as well as the wallet of an average person, based on living in Italy for a few years (Rome and Perugia): As JMN57 indirectly suggested, wines of certain regions (e.g. Tuscany, Piemonte, Veneto, etc.) are usually much more expensive compared to wines of corresponding quality from other regions (e.g. Calabria, Puglia, Sicily, etc.). There are many reasons for this, and I don't want to expand here, suffice to say that if you intend to stay longer in Italy, try some of those Southern ones and you'll easily save up to 100 € and more monthly.