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Backsberg started with a penniless political and religious refugee from Lithuania who arrived on the shores of Cape Town in 1902. C.L. Back first made a living as a bicycle delivery ‘boy’ until he purchased a butcher shop at Paarl train station. Old legend has it that someone approached C.L. in the shop and asked about his interest in buying a farm, resulting in him selling the butcher shop and acquiring what was then known as Klein Babylonstoren, nestled in the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain in 1916. Back then, the crops consisted of mainly grain, livestock, fruit, and eventually wine grapes. In the early 20’s, wine was sold to the KWV or in bulk to destinations such as England. Tankers of wine were loaded for shipment to France to compensate for the wine shortage after WWII. C. L.’s son Sydney Back created ‘Back’s Wines’ as a brand in 1969, followed by Backsberg. 2016 marks 100 years of Backsberg traditions at the vineyard.