Little-known, confined to the shadows but indispensable, Canaiolo has spanned the centuries, helping to build the history of Tuscan oenology and establishing its reputation . In 1872 it became part of the Chianti Classico specification according to the formula identified by Bettino Ricasoli: 7/10 Sangiovese, 2/10 Canaiolo and 1/10 Malvasia. The "Iron Baron" so called for moral rigor and intransigence, had identified in Canaiolo, a wine with soft tones as he wrote in the letter sent to Prof. Cesare Studiati of the University of Pisa, in which he summarized the fruit of 30 years of work and research. "I confirmed myself in the results already obtained in the first experiments, namely, that the wine receives from Sangioveto the main dose of its perfume (which I particularly aim for) and a certain vigor of sensation; from Canajuolo the amiability that tempers the hardness of the former, without taking away anything of its perfume for it is also endowed with it; the Malvagia, of which one could do without in wines intended for aging, to dilute the product of the two first grapes, enhances its flavor and makes it lighter and more readily usable for everyday table use."

To date, Canaiolo's journey has not come to a halt, but rather recorded an important milestone that will allow the richness of this grape variety to be savored from another, completely renewed perspective . True to its vision, which sees as a priority the enhancement of the territory, Pieve di Campoli has decided to try its hand at an unusual action: from a historic vineyard of the winery, a Rosato di Canaiolo and a Canaiolo IGT in purity, aged 12 months in barriques , has been obtained. The vine that owes its name to the days of the Canicola, when between July and mid-August the grapes ripen, has been one of the protagonists in the formulation of Chianti Classico since time immemorial, but cases of its vinification in purity are really rare, as much in the earliest history as in today's. "It is an important operation and one that moves in two directions," explains Andrea Paoletti, director of the winery . On the one hand, the valorization of indigenous varieties allows us to express the full potential of our territory, and on the other to expand the range and offer a niche product in which the market, especially the international market, is increasingly interested." And so it happened. From now on, Pieve di Campoli's catalog will feature, alongside the traditional Chianti Classico and Vin Santo, this new label that partly reflects the older history of Chianti Classico and partly represents its new beginning, the push toward a frontier that has yet to be explored and that, thanks to its exceptional nature, still releases the charm and magic of the first time.