When it comes to finding the best quality prosecco, and the most beautiful vineyard slope in the Prosecco Hills, you can’t go past Cartizze.

Prosecco, Italy’s famous sparkling wine has long surpassed champagne when it comes to the number of bottles sold annually. For a good number of reasons: It offers good quality, an approachable taste profile, is fun to drink, versatile with food, and only costs a fraction of champagne.

Let’s be honest, though. Most of us consider prosecco to be a nice, everyday sparkling wine but in terms of quality would most likely rank several other sparkling wines – and of course champagne – ahead of prosecco.

I would agree with this view, as long as we speak of Prosecco DOC, and thus the majority of prosecco made in the plains of Italy’s Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions. Here, you will find a wide range of nice prosecco perfect for casual, everyday enjoyment. It’s the type of prosecco I will usually opt when making cocktails.

On the other hand, today many sparkling wines easily rivel champagne when it comes to quality and taste. And you should not categorically rule out prosecco being part of this group.

Perhaps you have read my recent blogs about the UNESCO-listed Prosecco DOCG vineyard areas Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Asolo. In this case, you will know (though perhaps you’ve known it before) high quality prosecco is made in these two appellations. In addition to quality, this small area is also hands down one of the most beautiful vineyard areas across Italy.

For more insight, check out my blogs Get to know Italy’s thrilling Prosecco Hills and Discover Asolo and the surrounding Prosecco vineyards on your next trip.

To top it all is one particular vineyard nestled within the Valdobbiadne area, both in terms of beautiful scenery and quality of prosecco.

What is Cartizze, and why is it special?

Cartizze Prosecco or Superiore di Cartizze as it is officially named is made from grapes harvested at a small vineyard area of the same name located within the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG area.

The prestigious Cartizze slope, covering only around 108 hectares, is considered one of the best vineyards in Italy and thus is a designated CRU area, which describes a high-quality area within a larger wine region.

Characterized by steep south-facing slopes, a specific soil combination of marl and limestone along with a favourable microclimate makes Cartizze a natural oasis for excellent, long-lasting wines. Too steep to bring in heavy machinery, everything in the vineyard area is done manually.

Add to all those winemaking characteristics the fact that this area is easily one of the most breathtakingly beautiful across the already spectacular Conegliano Valdobiaddene region, and you have the perfect reason to make this your next wine region to visit.

Sandwiched between the towns of Santo Stefano, Saccol and San Pietro di Barbozza, the round about one square kilometre small Cartizze vineyard slope is owned by around 140 local winemakers. That might sound a lot, but annual production of Cartizze Prosecco reaches only around 1.2 million bottles. According to the latest official statistics, this compares to around 124 million bottles of Prosecco DOCG and just under 630 million bottles of Prosecco DOC.

Considering the small quantity of Cartizze made annually, only a small number of Superiore di Cartizze is sold outside of Italy. Another reason to add the Conegliano Valdobbiadene wine region north of Venice.

How does Cartizze Prosecco taste?

Superiore di Cartizze displays an exceptional purity, complexity and elegance with a marked freshness and minerality. Cartizze typically has a higher level of residual sugar and therefore is characterized by a sweeter taste profile albeit this is usually balanced by its acidity.

Intense aromas of ripe apples, pears and citrus fruits, a fine perlage and balanced sweetness make this particular prosecco quite exceptional. It’s a sparkling wine that remains a fantastic option as an everyday wine thanks to the still approachable price, yet it’s high quality and delicious taste makes it also perfect for special occasions.

Best food pairings with Superiore di Cartizze Prosecco

Like other styles of prosecco, Superiore di Cartizze is a highly versatile wine when it comes to food pairing.

Cartizze will work perfectly well with any type of Italian antipasto (appetizer), light seafood and fish, sushi, pasta, vegetable dishes, poultry, white meats, fresh fruits, fruit cakes and desserts with citrus flavours.

Top Superiore di Cartizze to try

As usual, finding the best Superiore di Cartizze comes down to personal taste. However, if you are new to the category, I suggest starting with one of the below.

  • Bisol Superiore di Cartizze Dry Valdobbiadene
  • Ruggieri Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze
  • Col Vetoraz Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze
  • Adami Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze Dry
  • Villa Sandi Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze Dry

If you are not familiar with Superiore di Cartizze yet, I recommend you have a go. It’s fantastic quality and you still pay only a fraction of other quality sparkling wines, particularly champagne.