Fairview

The cultivation of virgin vineyard land on Fairview in recent years has led to the unearthing of prehistoric stone tools that provide proof of the presence of hominids at the foot of the Paarl Mountain some 700 000 years ago. Centuries later, probably towards the end of the first millennium AD, these hills became home to the Khoi – nomadic pastoralists from the north. These peaceful people remained until the arrival of the first European settlers at the Cape of Good Hope in the mid 1600s.

The official demarcation of Fairview as a formal farm followed in 1693. A tract of land on the southwestern slopes of Paarl Mountain was granted to Steven Verwey (thought to have been one of the French Huguenots who fled Protestant persecution in Europe in 1688) by the Governor of the Cape at the time – Simon van der Stel, a Dutch East India Company official instrumental in developing several of the Cape’s first and still finest wine ‘estates’.

Just six years later, in 1699, the first wine was made on the farm. Official tax records of the time reflect a farm ‘inventory’ listing a few barrels of wine among items ranging from bags of wheat to rifles and slaves. The farm had previously been known as Bloemkoolfontein (‘Cauliflower Fountain’). Current Owner/Vintner Charles Back jests that he is pleased that someone had the foresight to change the name. The farm’s history until about 100 years ago is chequered, as it was part of no less than eight insolvent estates. Quips the incorrigible Charles again: ‘I’m doing my best to break the habit!’

The farm’s star started rising from 1937 when Back’s grandfather, Charles Back I, bought the property from the Hugo family for the sum of £6 500.

An immmigrant from Lithuania, the young Charles Back I had landed on these shores in 1902 and opened a butcher shop in Paarl, which also sold fresh farm produce. Through his dealings with local farmers, especially David Louw who grew wine grapes on his farm Babylonstoren, the canny Back patriarch’s interest in wine was piqued. In 1916 he bought a piece of Louw’s land called Klein Babylonstoren on the Paarl-facing slopes of the Simonsberg mountain range, a Cape winelands landmark.

Next thing, he’d produced South Africa’s champion wine (in 1926, as a self-taught winemaker) and built up a booming wine export business. Such successes encouraged him to look further afield: in fact, just down the valley towards the round granite outcrops on Paarl Mountain, which is where he found the farm Fairview. Such foresight enabled him, upon his death in 1955, to bequeath a wine farm to each of his two sons, in whom he’d also instilled a passion for wine, a strong work ethic and a spirit of endeavour. Klein Babylonstoren went to Sydney and became Backsberg (now in the hands of Sydney’s son Michael Back). Fairview was Cyril’s inheritance…

Cyril Back immediately set about replanting his vineyards. Cinsault, then fairly ubiquitous in the Cape winelands, was ripped up and replaced with the more classic Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, as well as Pinotage, an innovative Cape cross then still emerging as a potential producer of quality red wine. Some Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc came later. Cyril went on to become a valued supplier of good wine to the KWV, then the Cape’s largest wine co-operative with statutory control over the local wine industry. Imbued with the Back entrepreneurial spirit and encouraged by brother Sydney, who had become one of the Cape’s first wine farmers to sell wine to the public in 1970 under his own Backsberg ‘estate’ label (amidst strong opposition from the large producer wholesalers!), Cyril went solo in 1974. Bottling his own wine for the first time – 500 cases each of Cabernet, Shiraz and Pinotage – he initiated the Cape’s first public wine auction as a vehicle to market and sell the fledgling Fairview wines. The top price back then? “R3 a bottle,” recalls his son Charles.

Charles Back II started farming with his father in 1978, having completed his oenological training at leading local agricultural institution Elsenburg, and took over full responsibility for the farm upon his father’s passing in 1995. This third-generation Back vintner has built further on the Fairview family’s tradition of innovative wine growing, an innate understanding of consumer tastes and a keen eye for business opportunities.

Charles has become a pioneer in developing new, hitherto-unexplored viticultural sites across the Western Cape and experimenting with lesser-known varieties. And he expanded his late father Cyril’s dairy goat herd, started in 1980, into a fully fledged cheesery, producing international award-winning cheeses. In 1981, Charles built the now-famous Fairview Goat Tower, inspired by a similar structure that his parents had seen during their travels in Portugal. Today, in addition to wine and cheese tastings and sales, friendly Fairview welcomes visitors to The Goatshed, a Mediterranean-style indoor/al fresco restaurant.

Over the past decade, Charles has also been consolidating the Fairview property, the historical value of which has long been underplayed. The original homestead, circa 1722, sold off in one of many earlier subdivisions, is back in the hands of the farm’s proprietor, beautifully restored and home to the resident owner/vintner once more. Part of the restoration process was the nurturing back to health of an old grove of chestnut trees behind the homestead, whose crops were delivered to the market in Cape Town at the turn of the 20th century. And, among the many snippets of information gleaned during the process of looking back into Fairview’s past, was that the farm’s wines, predominantly fortified dessert-style elixirs up to the early 1900s, were prescribed by a local Paarl doctor for medicinal purposes… to ailing children! (But at least it was just by the teaspoonful!)

Under Charles Back II’s sure guidance, Fairview has come full circle: from its days as one of the Cape’s earliest wine farms developed by French Huguenot Steven Verwey at the turn of the 17th century, to its current position as one of South Africa’s most successful, enduring, innovative wineries firmly ensconced in the 21st century.

When Fairview began bottling wine under its own label in 1974, the farm operated as an estate, with all grape growing and wine production taking place on the Paarl premises. Charles Back abandoned the estate wine concept in the 1980s, choosing rather to “go where the terroir is”, which opened up the opportunity to produce a wider range of wines using grapes grown in optimal conditions.

Paarl: 350 hectares

The vineyards at the home of Fairview are planted on well-drained decomposed granite soils on the southwestern slopes of Paarl mountain, below Paarl Rock. Starting in 2006, a replanting program was undertaken to introduce new varietals and vineyard practices. Fairview purchased an adjacent farm, and the majority of the premium vineyards were planted on the favourable soils on the slopes of the mountain, as opposed to on the sandier valley floor. With the area’s average summer temperature of 24℃, warmer climate varietals were preferred. These include Shiraz, Pinotage, Petite Sirah, Viognier and Grenache. Aside from a block of old bushvine Chenin Blanc, most of the vineyards are trellised, and receive supplementary drip irrigation during the warm summer months.

Swartland: 115 hectares

Charles Back was one of the pioneers of premium wine production in the Swartland, and Fairview purchased vineyards there in 1997. These are on the farm Amoskuil, and are shared with another of Back’s cellars, The Spice Route Winery. The undulating hills of the Swartland create unique pockets of soil, and care has been taken in selecting the best varietals to suit the sites. The soils of Fairview’s Swartland vineyards are dominated by deep, ferric oakleaf soils, with high water retention properties vital in sustaining the vineyards through the summer months (the farm is not irrigated). There are also pockets of shale and koffieklip (ferricrete) soils. The vineyards are mostly untrellised bushvines (bosstok). Varietals planted at Amoskuil include the red varietals Shiraz, Carignan, Grenache, Tannat, Mourvèdre and Petite Sirah, as well as the white grapes Viognier and Chenin Blanc.

Darling: 86 hectares

Darling was formerly included in the Swartland region, but its maritime influence from the Atlantic Ocean created sufficient differentiation of terroir for it to be declared its own ward. The western hills outside the town are blessed with deep red oakleaf soils, and with summer temperatures averaging in the low twenties, are perfectly suited to premium dryland Sauvignon Blanc production. The site of Fairview’s vineyard was selected due to these factors, and varietals were selected to suit the terroir. While Sauvignon Blanc accounts for 60 hectares, Semillon, Nouvelle and Riesling are also planted, and show real promise. There are also small pockets of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which are used as blending partners for grapes from some other regions.

The white grape varietals from Darling characteristically show good structure, generous mouthfeel and an attractive minerality. The reds exhibit cool climate style, with pepper and spices coming through in the flavours and aromas of the wines.

Stellenbosch: 35 hectares

The home of Bordeaux varietals in the Cape, Fairview’s trellised Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot vineyards are on the western side of the Helderberg Mountains. The farm is called Houmoed, and the soils are predominantly Koffieklip (literally translated as ‘coffee stone’, descriptive of their appearance). These soils are also known as ferricrete, and are a combination of clay- and iron-rich soils that give Koffieklip its characteristic colour.

Fairview is a third generation family-owned farm that values the relationship between those who own and work the vineyards and the very land that provides the raw materials. Fairview is committed to the preservation of the local environment, and has various measures in place to ensure that its farming and production practices are in line with or exceed the standards set by local and international authorities.

South Africa is a country rich in natural resources and biodiversity – factors that play a key role in attracting international tourism. It is also however a country that has traditionally been strongly agriculturally orientated and reliant. The key challenge going forward lies in managing the future sustainability of these two sometimes conflicting aspects of our society. Many groups within the South African wine industry have long since recognised this challenge, and have been pro-active in pursuing eco-friendly farming methods and practices. Fairview is committed to participate in these initiatives.

Our Brand

Although the Fairview property has been producing wine since 1699, the first bottle of Fairview-labelled wine only became available from the farm in 1974 (this was sold at South Africa’s first wine auction). Since then many changes have taken place. The original label was designed by Charles’ late mother Beryl, who also painted the mural in the reception.

Over the next 37 vintages, the label has undergone various changes, dove-tailing with the evolution of the farm, the vineyards, the wines and the market. Over the years Charles has tried to retain the soul of what he believes makes Fairview special, always staying true to the fundamental principles of the farm’s rich heritage. A label was finally created to embody all of Fairview’s values in a timeless design.

Charles Back explains the following motivation behind the design:

“The crest that forms the heart of the new label is unpretentious and devoid of heraldic devices, ribbons or shields. It has a distinctive agricultural feel and conveys the essential elements that encompass Fairview. As far as I know, this is the first label in South Africa, or possibly in the world, that gives such clear recognition to the role of the vineyard workers. Vineyard workers have walked a long road in the South African wine industry – from being slave labourers, through the fall of Apartheid until today, when they have in certain instances become land and brand owners.

The goat stands proud as an integral part of the history of Fairview. Our brand has a lot of the goat’s capricious nature in its DNA – always looking for new opportunities, not afraid of climbing, sure-footed and quite mischievous at times.

The sheaf of wheat not only makes reference to our farming heritage (my late great grandfather owned a flourmill in Lithuania), but also represents the bread that is baked daily in the Goatshed restaurant.

The four icons in the centre of the crest refer to the following:

The key unlocks knowledge and potential, opening doors to new opportunities. The handle of the key is a “B” for Back, my family name, and the bit of the key is made up of two “C’s” – for grandfather Charles, father Cyril and myself, Charles. The basket press represents the artisanal nature that our wine- and cheese-making has retained through the years. The olive tree represents growth and the importance of family. We also produce olive oil on the farm – another offering of our ever-expanding business. The deep roots of the tree also represent Fairview as a well-established and trusted brand. The scroll symbolises wisdom and values. The three stars and shell that sit above the crest were taken from the imagery on the gable of the Fairview Manor House, which was completed in 1722. The stars represent guidance and the shell fertility.

Collective effort has always been paramount to the philosophy of Fairview, and our Winemaker Anthony de Jager’s name has been incorporated onto the front label. The iconic Goat Tower has also been included in a stylised manner on the capsule of the bottle. We still include the date 1693 – the year in which the first formal farming operations commenced on the property, 281 years before Charles Back I purchased the property.