Backsberg Estate Cellars

My great grandfather, C.L. Back, fled Lithuania, because of religious persecution in 1902. He got on a ship from Europe and came down to Cape Town. Not being able to speak or read English or Afrikaans, life wasn’t exactly easy to begin with. He toiled on the docks at Cape Town harbour before moving to Paarl to manage a butchery, which he eventually took over. The story goes that one day someone came into the butchery and said ‘Hey, do you want to buy a farm?’. C.L. Back not knowing much about farming let alone winemaking spotted the opportunity and the rest is history.
My grandfather, Sydney, put Backsberg on the map in South Africa, and my father, Michael, has really taken the wines overseas. And now there’s me, the fourth generation -no pressure. I am passionate about wine and Backsberg, so expect plenty of good things to come.

Author: Caroline Porsiel