Simon Back, Author at Backsberg

We are proud to be the official wine partner of Smuts Hall residence at the University of Cape Town. After staying in Smuts for two years whilst at UCT, I have a soft spot for the res, and have been happy to assist with supplying wine over the last few years. Smuts host a number of top class [...]

Backsberg Estate Cellars is the exclusive wine and bubbly supplier to the event and we find it only fitting that we are part of this event that acknowledges a culture of excellence, innovation, awareness and superior quality – much of what Backsberg Estate Cellars exemplifies.

Backsberg requires the services of a restaurant manager to manage our 250-seater restaurant. The applicant should have the following qualifications: Proven track record as a restaurant manager Front of house experience Keen interest in food Strong numeracy and computer skills The applicant should have a cheerful, customer-focussed disposition Be a problem-solver Be involved in the [...]

Maties are the Backsberg Vino Varsity 2012 Champion. Their tasting skills proved too sharp for Ikeys and Tuks. Ikeys came in second, with Tuks just off the pace in third.

Simon Back, Backsberg Marketing Manager, says the Backsberg Vino Varsity Challenge continues to grow, and is capturing the imagination of university wine societies. ‘In previous years we have had Wits, and Rhodes participate. It was brilliant to have Pretoria here this year. We plan to reach out to more universities in the future,’ he said. ‘The vision is to take the competition to a national level.’

With Vino Varsity just around the corner, this Friday 17th August, at Backsberg, the sword is about to fall, and the wine gladiators will soon enter the arena. May the best university wine society win!

Christian Eedes reviews the John Martin Sauvignon Blanc 2009

This morning we tasted through all our wines which are in bottle, including some wines from up to 10 years ago. It’s fascinating to do a big tasting like this, and to see how wines have evolved and developed, and to try speculate how certain wines are going to change in the future. Wine is [...]

I just downloaded a blogging app for my lowly Blackberry, so this serves as one part test, and one part story about worms. We have been doing some worm farming for a while now, but are planning on expanding the project quite significantly. We have been running some trials, and the worms seem to be [...]

Here are two recent interviews I did: a podcast interview with the UK Wine Show’s Chris Scott and a twitter interview with House and Leisure magazine.

Last week I was in Denmark for a couple of days. It was a busy first day: I met up with our importers, watched the Danish National Sommelier Championships and saw some of Copenhagen’s top restaurants.

I recently attended our UK importer, Ellis of Richmond’s, portfolio tasting in London, and I was pleasantly surprised to see an upbeat mood in the market.

I am heading to Europe to take up managing our exports. Wish me luck.

We all spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about today and tomorrow. Well, what a wonderful Saturday morning I recently had – a morning reminiscing about the past with Shirley Martin and my wife. Shirley is the daughter of the late John Martin who was my father’s right and left hand. He cared for [...]

Concours Mondial de Bruxelles Pumphouse Shiraz 2007 Gold International Wine Challenge UK John Martin 2009 Silver International Spirits Challenge Sydney Back NV Commended Sydney Back 10y Commended Michelangelo Wine Awards Tread Lightly Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Silver Veritas Chenin Blanc 2010 Silver Pinotage 2008 Silver Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Silver Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Silver Elbar 2007 Bronze [...]

Backsberg Estate Cellars, in association with kykNET, is thrilled to announce the return of its picnic concert series. The series, which runs from 28 November 2010 to 13 February 2011, features a superb musical line-up of South Africa’s best-loved artists – including Laudo (aKing), Karen Zoid, Koos Kombuis and Wrestlerish.

Backsberg launches its new wine brand Tread Lightly by Backsberg in a PET soft bottle

A brilliant day of tree planting, wine tasting and lunch was had by wine club members on the farm.

A classic cartoon from the New Yorker.

This is part 2 in my recap story.

The last couple of months have sped by; here is a bit of a recap.