BACKSBERG RESTAURANT
Restaurant in Paarl

The story goes that one morning someone arrived at the shop and asked if he would be interested in buying a farm. Farming activities in those days were mixed; some grain, some live stock, some fruit and in time, some wine grapes. Once wine making started in the early 20’s the wine was sold either to the KWV, or in bulk to destinations like England. Should you visit the cellars you will see pictures of my grandfather and father standing proudly at Cape Town harbour loading tankers of wine for shipment to France where there was a shortage of wine after the 2nd World War. Time and pressure allowed for no further education beyond Matric. Despite the lack of education, he certainly had inherent wine making skills and was awarded the Jan Smuts Trophy for overall performance at the SA Young Wine Show very early in his career. Over the years my father focused more and more on the wine side of our business, but with a large volume of low priced wines he was getting squeezed out of the wine business by the bigger players. For years after the sale he often used to say to me that that was one of his better decisions as it freed him of much debt and gave him the ability to restart. Whilst the buyers went off with the name, stock, the plant and equipment, he proceeded to register the name Backsberg. For my father this was a unique and challenging time. Our farm at that point was mostly planted to peaches, and thus he had the opportunity to build the brand without pressure to sell, as the orchards were replaced with vineyards over the next 10 years. In those days if we sold a couple of cases of wine for the entire day we were grateful and excited. We sold our piggery and meat processing business, ripped out any under-performing vineyards, culled the list of wines we were producing, and adopted a zero tolerance policy to quality. Today some 10 years later we stand proud as a team of what we have achieved. Simon is armed with fresh ideas and all of us at the farm are excited to watch his progress. Only produced in exceptional vintages from the very best vineyard blocks, no effort is spared to create these fine wines of true personality and distinction. The Family Reserve wines reflect the very best Backsberg has to offer. Underscoring this notion of individuality, the wines are named after a particular place or person integral to the farm’s history. While offering much enjoyment on release, the whites will benefit from 2-3 years of cellaring, and the reds will benefit from 8-10 years of maturation. The objective with this range is to produce wines that express varietal character together with a sense of place, in an elegant and harmonious style. Our Kosher wines are made under the auspices of the Cape Town Beth Din and the OU of the United States. Backsberg was the first winery in South Africa to bottle certified wine in PET. This wine range personifies our care and respect for the environment. Another unique feature of Backsberg is our brandy production. With characteristic determination, the late Sydney Back set out fo find the best methods to produce fine brandy equivalent to the great Congnacs of France, but with its own distinctive character. His perseverance and and skill were recognised at the International Wine and Spirit competition in London, where his first brandy release won the Domecq Trophy for the Best Brandy in the World.