Folle blanche, a French wine grape, and an unknown variety of Vitis riparia indigenous to North America.

[1] In 1951 the variety was brought to the cooler viticulture regions of North America, such as British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New York, Michigan, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Oregon.

Some of the oldest Baco Noir vineyards in Ontario were shovel-planted by Henry of Pelham Winery’s co-founders, Paul, Matt, and Daniel Speck, in 1984 in the Short Hills Bench of the Niagara Peninsula.

As pioneers of Ontario’s Baco Noir, the Speck Brothers have been instrumental in the varietal’s rise, championing it as a signature grape of the region.

Oregon's first Baco noir vines were imported by Philippe Girardet in 1971 for his winery located in the Umpqua Valley.