A demijohn holds about 30 liters of wine, enough for about 40 bottles!
	Wine bottles are available at most hardware stores ( ferramenta ) in Italy.
	Douglas uses one of the many devices designed to squeeze the cork and get it into the bottle.

If you're planning to visit a winery and bottle your own wine, you'll need to find the right winery -- and bring along a few things. Here's what you'll need:

A Winery That Sells Wine by the Demijohn Some winegrowing regions in Italy strictly forbid the sale and transport of wine outside bottles, so buying a demijohn with wine might take a little investigating. Every Italian knows somebody who sells wine directly from their casks, but if you're having no luck, try your local trattoria. If their house wine (vino della casa) that you liked so much was brought to your table in a carafe, then it was probably poured from a demijohn. If you ask the right way, the trattoria owners may be willing to tell you where they got their wine.

A Demijohn This is the classic container used to hold wine. It is sold in most hardware stores (ferramenta). A typical demijohn will hold approximately 30 liters of table wine and will cost between 30-40 Euros (in Tuscany). Since a bottle is 0.75 liters, you can get about 40 bottles of wine from a demijohn, which works out to less than a dollar a bottle!

Empty Bottles Since it's not uncommon for people to bottle their own wine it's easy to find empty bottles at local hardware stores. You can also recycle your old wine bottles.

Corks The EU is attempting to move people away from corks made from cork bark and toward synthetic corks (due to hygienic concerns). While corks can be found at most any ferramenta, you can also use plastic stoppers if you're in a pinch.

A Corker There are a number of devices out there that essentially squeeze the cork so that it's small enough to fit inside a bottle. If you can't find one, you might want to use a plastic cork (like those used for champagne). They work surprisingly well for table wines that are going to be drunk soon.

Labels (not an option!) The best part about bottling your own wine is coming up with a good name for it. Make a new label for each demijohn you get. Start a collection!

Resources

Winemaker Magazine
winemakermag.com

The Joy of Home Winemaking
www.joyofwine.net

The Amateur Winemaker's Resource
www.geocities.com/NapaValley/Cellar/2800

Grapestompers
www.grapestompers.com