Born in 1954, Michael Back has spent a lifetime dedicated to building, stewarding, and transforming the family business.
After graduating from the University of Stellenbosch in 1975 with a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture, Michael returned to the Backsberg farm with a singular focus: to grow and develop the enterprise that his grandfather had begun. His entire professional career has been devoted to managing and expanding this family business – a commitment that he has carried out with passion, pragmatism and an eye on social responsibility.
Michael has through the years led with heart-and-soul and conviction. He has consistently sought to keep the business profitable, to care deeply for employees and the wider community, to champion social justice, to protect and nurture the environment and to embrace technology and innovation.
While the family’s business ventures have also included livestock businesses, Michael has chosen to focus on his contributions to the wine industry. These efforts reflect not only the growth of a family enterprise but also Michael and his wife, Jill’s, shared values, using business as a force for good.
Michael joined his father, Sydney, in 1976 and quickly set about modernising and professionalising the business. In 1982, he launched a propagation programme using plant material that had been smuggled into the country by his father and others, laying the groundwork for future vineyard excellence. Just four years later, he earned international acclaim when Backsberg’s 1986 Chardonnay was awarded the coveted Domecq Trophy at the International Wine & Spirits Competition for Best South African White Wine.
Throughout the 1990s, Michael continued to expand and innovate. Together with his father, he initiated a brandy distillation program in 1991 and in 1995 won the Domecq Trophy again, this time for Best Brandy of the Show.
In 1998, he launched Freedom Road Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa’s first “empowerment wine”, with the first bottle signed by President Nelson Mandela in Parliament – a symbolic milestone marrying business with social change. This commitment to empowerment deepened in 2002 with the completion of the Freedom Road housing project, enabling all Backsberg staff to own their homes.
Michael was early to adopt technology and sustainability initiatives: he introduced roto-tanks in the late 1980s, pioneered screwcap bottling in 2003, began the journey to carbon neutrality in 2006, and earned recognition such as the Mail and Guardian Greening the Future Award (2009) and Biodiversity Champion status (2010). His bursary programme funded the equivalent of 150 years of tertiary education for staff and their families.
His achievements were widely recognized: in 2014 he was made a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow, and in 2015, he received The Drinks Business Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2021, after nearly five decades in wine, Michael sold the family’s interests in the industry. In 2023, Michael and Simon acquired a fruit marketing company, C Fruit, as a springboard into the next chapter of the family’s agricultural journey. He retired in 2025, leaving behind a legacy of innovation, integrity, and impact.