Cartizze Historical Timeline

Origins

The slope was planted long before it had a name in law -- growers here had recognised it as the best land in the district well before any appellation existed.

Turning points

Cartizze was formally delimited as a sub-zone as the DOC system developed from 1969, fixing its boundaries at roughly 107 hectares between San Pietro di Barbozza, Santo Stefano and Saccol.

Influential people

Its ownership is the unusual part: fragmented among more than a hundred families, many holding well under a hectare, passed down by inheritance. There is no single Cartizze estate.

Cultural evolution

DOCG status in 2009 confirmed the hierarchy, with Cartizze at the top, the 43 named rive below it, and general Valdobbiadene Superiore beneath that.

Present-day significance

Land here has changed hands at prices that make it, by area, among the most valuable agricultural land anywhere -- and it sits inside the UNESCO landscape inscribed in 2019.