Cartizze: what it is, where it is and what it costs

What Cartizze is and how to read it on the label

The DOCG production rules reserve the term “Superiore di Cartizze” for sparkling wine of the denomination made in the traditional subzone (article 1, paragraph 2). Article 3 sets out the mechanism: sparkling wine made from grapes picked in the territory of the hamlet of San Pietro di Barbozza, known as Cartizze, in the municipality of Valdobbiadene, is entitled to the sub-designation. The label must read “Conegliano Valdobbiadene” Superiore di Cartizze or, more simply, “Valdobbiadene” Superiore di Cartizze.

The subzone exists in this denomination alone. The rules for Prosecco DOC set out four styles (still wine, sparkling, sparkling rosé and semi-sparkling), no subzone and no additional geographical term, and they forbid any qualifier on the label other than those the rules provide.

Since when

The hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene have been a controlled denomination of origin since the presidential decree of 2 April 1969, published in the official gazette on 7 June 1969, and a controlled and guaranteed denomination since the ministerial decree of 17 July 2009. The producers' consortium also gives 1969 as the year from which the Cartizze subzone has been regulated.

Where it is: the Golden Pentagon

The consortium calls the subzone the “Pentagono d'Oro”, the golden pentagon, and places it among the steepest hills of San Pietro di Barbozza, Santo Stefano and Saccol, three villages in the municipality of Valdobbiadene. The production rules do not use that name and describe the boundary watercourse by watercourse and road by road: it starts at the bridge over the Teva, west of Soprapiana, follows the Teva up to the Zente and Piagar ditches, continues along the Vettorazzi municipal road and the Menegazzi lane, runs along the ridge of monte Vettoraz and comes down the Mont road, the Piander road and the Cavalier road back to the starting point, taking in Col Zancher and Pra Ospitale.

According to the production rules the land in the subzone has a slope and a southern aspect that create “a kind of natural amphitheatre”. The soils of the denomination are mainly sandstone and marl, with morainic and alluvial layers, and they drain steadily. The zone lies 40 km from the Venetian lagoon, has a temperate climate and a night-time temperature inversion that produces a wide day to night range during ripening.

San Pietro di Barbozza, Santo Stefano and Guia are also three of the 43 additional geographical units that go with the term Rive in annex A of the production rules, so the same hamlet can appear on a label in two different ways.

The rules: hand harvest, 12 tonnes a hectare, 11.50% vol

Cartizze sits at the top of the denomination's yield ladder. The maximum grape yield in specialised cultivation is 12 tonnes per hectare, against 13.50 for sparkling superiore without any additional term and 13.0 for Rive. Grapes destined for Cartizze, for Rive and for the “sui lieviti” sparkling wine must be picked by hand only. The minimum natural alcohol of the grapes is 9.50% vol and the minimum total alcohol of the wine on sale is 11.50% vol, the same as Rive and half a point above sparkling superiore.

The grapes for Cartizze must be made into wine within the municipality of Valdobbiadene, while the second fermentation, bottling and packaging take place in the province of Treviso. On release the rules require a fine and persistent mousse, a bright straw-yellow colour, total acidity of at least 4.5 g/l and sugar-free extract of at least 14.0 g/l.

The rules set no release date for Cartizze: the 1 March rule, in the year after the harvest, applies to Rive alone. Sparkling wine of the DOCG is sold in the styles from Extra Brut to Demi-Sec inclusive.

How much Cartizze is made

The subzone has reached the physical limit of its boundary, so the area claimed has been steady for twenty years. In 2023 it was 106 hectares, 0.2% less than in 2022, farmed by 139 growers (141 in 2022) and bottled by 66 sparkling wine houses, 15.8% more than the year before.

Sales in 2023 came to just under 1.12 million bottles, 9.5% fewer than in 2022, for a value of 15.4 million euro (-8.4%). Out of the denomination's total of 92,431,433 bottles, Cartizze accounts for 1.2% of sparkling wine production; Rive accounts for 4% with 3,686,825 bottles and sparkling wine without additional terms for 92.8% with 85,730,923 bottles.

Over the longer run Cartizze volumes are down 14.2% on 2006, while shipments abroad have grown by 265% over the same comparison. The largest export markets by volume are Switzerland, the Adriatic-Danube countries and Russia, each at 13%, then Germany at 12% and the United States at 10.6%. Within Italy 72.8% of sales go to the north.

What Superiore di Cartizze costs, and why

The price starts with the grapes. In 2023 grapes fit for Cartizze were paid 4.25 euro a kilogram on average, excluding VAT, within a range of 4.00 to 4.50 euro, against 1.75 euro for Rive grapes and 1.65 euro for grapes of the denomination. Compared with 2022 the price of Cartizze grapes fell by 19%, from 5.25 euro a kilogram the year before.

The average value of a bottle of Cartizze sold in 2023 was 13.83 euro, 1.3% more than in 2022, against 7.70 euro for Rive. These are values at the winery. No official source carries a retail price: the production rules contain no prices and the consortium publishes none.

The district's economic report does show how sales break down by price band. In the distribution channels the band between 10 and 14 euro a bottle takes 40.6% of volume, the band between 16 and 18 euro 22.9%, the band between 7 and 10 euro 19% and the band between 14 and 16 euro 14.7%. In direct sales at the winery more than half of volume sits above 16 euro a bottle.

The Italian channels, by share of volume, are buying groups (38.7%), restaurants and wine shops (29.7%), direct sales (14.4%), wholesalers and distributors (10%) and e-commerce (4%). It is worth comparing what a winery of the denomination offers with retail prices.

How to cross the Cartizze zone

The consortium describes the “Anello del Prosecco”, a route of about 10 km through the south-facing vineyards of San Pietro di Barbozza, Santo Stefano and Saccol, open on foot or by mountain bike all year, with March to October given as the best months. The summary box for the same itinerary gives 4 km, so its two measurements do not agree.

The route starts from the square at San Pietro di Barbozza, where VignArte, a permanent installation of wooden sculptures, stands among the vines. From the oratory a gravel road leads to the church of Sant'Alberto, a viewpoint that on clear days takes in the Venetian lagoon, the Colli Euganei and the Monti Berici. Path 1019A drops to the friary of the Friars Minor Conventual and the sanctuary of the Immaculate of Lourdes; the Mont road runs along the crest of the golden pentagon and the Pianer road goes down to Saccol. Guided walks are booked through the consortium.

The zone is part of the Strada del Prosecco e Vini dei Colli Conegliano Valdobbiadene, founded in 1966 as Italy's first wine road and reconstituted in 2003: the consortium describes it as about 50 km, the association that runs it as more than 90 km. The hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, 181 square kilometres with 12 municipalities in the core zone and 3 in the buffer zone, have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since July 2019. For a guided visit, compare the tastings in the Prosecco hills.