without the susceptibility that had plagued Folle Blanche growers. While growers in the Cognac region began adopting Ugni blanc (the same grape known in Italy as Trebbiano), growers in the Armagnac region began to enthusiastically plant Baco's new white hybrid. For most of the 20th century, Baco blanc was the primary grape of the Armagnac region. Its reached it peak in the 1970s when more than 85% of all plantings in the area were Baco blanc, accounting for more than . However, as Ugni blanc began gaining more of a foothold in other Gascon wine regions, the plantings of Baco blanc began to gradually decline. By the end of the 20th century, Ugni blanc had eclipsed Baco blanc as the most widely planted grape in Armagnac. This decline led to some speculation about the future of the variety, especially after a 1992 (INAO) decree that all vines of Baco blanc were to be uprooted by 2010. However, advocates for the grape variety and its historical role in Armagnac were able to persuade French authorities to continue permitting its use in the distilled wines from the Armagnac region. While far from its early to mid-20th century prominence, the variety continues to play an important role in the Armagnac region and, as of 2005, the Bureau National Interprofessionnel de L'Armagnac (BNIA) reported that the grape variety was still used in the production of nearly half of all Armagnac. Wine regions Baco blanc is found primarily in France and was one of the "work-horse" hybrids that the country turned to following the phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century. While scattered plantings could be found throughout France, most of the Baco blanc plantings could be found on the west side of the country (in many of the areas where its parent vine, Folle blanche is found, from the South West France wine regions of Gascony all the way to the Loire Valley where it was particularly popular Muscadet and Anjou wine-Saumur regions of the "Middle Loire". The early to the mid-20th century saw a particular "boom period" in the Loire, with its cool maritime climate in most areas, for hybrid varieties. At late as 1979, Baco blanc along with other hybrid grapes such as Baco noir, Chambourcin, Plantet and Villard noir accounting for more than 10% of all grape plantings. But since the mid to late 20th century, the grape variety has fallen