 |
Charles Louis Back is the third-generation owner of South African wine and cheese producer Fairview, in Paarl in the Western Cape province. Fairview Estate is a third-generation family-owned farm, located on the slopes of the Paarl Mountain in the winelands of the Western Cape.
Charles Back studied winemaking at Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch. He officially joined his family's company in 1978 and took over full control in 1995 after his father, Cyril, died. [1] Following the fall of Apartheid in South Africa and the lifting of economic sanctions, Back initiated marketing and sales on the international market. Back is also the owner of The Goats do Roam Wine Company and The Spice Route Winery, which is a wine cellar in the Swartland region of the Western Cape.
Back has brought a number of new grape varietals to South Africa and is one of the country's original Rhône Rangers. He was the first producer to plant Viognier vineyards in the country, and has the largest plantings of Mourvèdre. Back also bottled South Africa's first single varietal Petite Sirah. He is of the opinion that the majority of South African vineyards should be planted to more Mediterranean and Rhône style varietals, as opposed to the Bordeaux ones that have typically been favoured. [2]
In April 2006, South African WINE Magazine voted Back the second most influential person in the South African wine industry, [3] after Nelson Mandela.
In 2007 Back was nominated as one of UK publication Harpers most influential personalities in the wine industry [4]
The KWV appointed Back onto their advisory winemaking committee in 2007, tasked with assisting the company with their quality and production strategy. [5]
In 2017, Back was awarded the 1659 Wine Industry Medal of Honour 2017 and the South African Farmer of the Year 2017.[ citation needed ]
PinotagePIN-ə-tahzh is a red wine grape that is South Africa's signature variety. It was cultivated there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut. It typically produces deep red varietal wines with smoky, bramble and earthy flavours, sometimes with notes of bananas and tropical fruit, but has been criticised for sometimes smelling of acetone. The grape is a viticultural intraspecific cross of two varieties of Vitis vinifera, not an interspecific hybrid.
Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage AOC, Hermitage AOC and Saint-Joseph AOC. In the southern Rhône appellation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC it is one of six white grapes allowed, where it may be blended into red wines. Roussanne is also planted in various wine-growing regions of the New World, such as California, Washington, Texas, South Africa and Australia as well as European regions such as Crete, Tuscany and Spain.
Paarl is a town with 285,574 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington. It is situated about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province and is known for its scenic environment and viticulture and fruit-growing heritage.
Viognier is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhône Valley.
Grenache or Garnacha is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, where the grape is believed to have originated. It is also grown in the Italian island of Sardinia, the south of France, Australia, and California's Monterey AVA, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara County and San Joaquin Valley.
New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional winegrowing areas of Europe and the Middle East, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. The phrase connotes a distinction between these "New World" wines and those wines produced in "Old World" countries with a long-established history of wine production, essentially in Europe, most notably: France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
Mourvèdre is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world including the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla and Yecla denominaciones de origen (DOs) of Spain, as well as the Balearic Islands, California and Washington and the Australian regions of South Australia and New South Wales, plus South Africa. In addition to making red varietal wines, Mourvèdre is a prominent component in "GSM" blends. The variety is also used to make rosé and port-style fortified wines.
KWV South Africa (Proprietary) Limited is one of the leading wine and spirits producers in South Africa. Its brands include Roodeberg, KWV Wines & KWV Brandies, and Laborie.
French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and American wine-producing regions. French wine traces its history to the 6th century BCE, with many of France's regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times. The wines produced range from expensive wines sold internationally to modest wines usually only seen within France such as the Margnat wines of the post-war period.
Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in Spain. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, vine cuttings were brought to Santiago del Estero in 1557, and the cultivation of the grape and wine production stretched first to neighboring regions, and then to other parts of the country.
South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and governor Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Production is concentrated around Cape Town and almost exclusively located within the Western Cape province, with major vineyard and production centres at Constantia, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester.
Western Cape is a Geographical Unit within the Wine of Origin classification system of South African wine. Corresponding to the province of Western Cape it includes most of the vineyards in South Africa.
A winemaking cooperative is an agricultural cooperative which is involved in winemaking, and which in a similar way to other cooperatives is owned by its members. The members in a winemaking cooperative are usually vineyard owners, who deliver grapes to the cooperative, which is involved in production of wine from the grapes and the subsequent marketing activities.
Fairview Wine and Cheese farm is a South African producer of wines and cheeses based in the Paarl region of the Western Cape province. It is owned and run by Charles Back, who also owns The Goats do Roam Wine Company and The Spice Route Winery.
A goat tower is a multi-story decorative goat house, modeled on a European garden folly, an early example of which was built in Portugal in the 19th century. The first goat tower was built at Aveleda, a winery in Portugal's Vinho Verde region. Since 1981, several other goat towers have been built in South Africa, Norway, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Argentina; these include three at other wineries. The towers typically are multi-story with climbing ramps spiralling the exterior and often become tourist attractions.
The early history of the South African wine industry can be traced to the founding of a supply station at the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch East India Company. Jan van Riebeeck was given the task of managing the station and planting vineyards to produce wine and grapes in the Wijnberg ; that could be used to ward off scurvy for sailors continuing on their voyages along the spice route. In 1685, another Cape Governor, Simon van der Stel, purchased a large 750-hectare (1,900-acre) estate, founding what later became the world-renowned Constantia wine estate. In the 19th century, South Africa fell under British rule which proved lucrative for the wine industry as South African wine flowed into the British market. This prosperity lasted until the 1860s when the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty signed by the Palmerston government and France reduced the preferential tariffs that benefited South African wine in favor of French wine exports.
Wine humour is humour associated with wine. As well as ordinary anecdotes, cartoons and jokes, the whimsical labels and names given to wine are a particular source of amusement. Humour is usually rare in the world of wine, and wine jokes may only be amusing to wine obsessives.
Benjamin Cane is an Australian winemaker who currently owns Duke's Vineyard in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
Force Majeure is a Washington/Oregon wine estate, specializing in Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon as well as other Bordeaux and Rhone-inspired blends. The brand was founded in 2004, and beginning with that vintage began the "Collaboration Series" of wines made by some of Washington's top winemakers, using fruit from Red Mountain's Ciel du Cheval vineyard. Since 2014, the wines have been made by acclaimed winemaker Todd Alexander, who moved from the Napa Valley to the Pacific Northwest at that time. The brand labels also changed in 2014, to signify the winemaking change and the use of their estate vineyards for the wines, going forward. Todd Alexander continues to craft these limited production wines to this day.
Val de Vie Estate is a residential estate occupying 917 hectares situated between Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek in the Cape Winelands of South Africa.