Charles Back named South Africa's most awarded winemaker

Charles Back has been announced as the 2017 recipient of the annual 1659 Honorary Award – one of the wine industries most prestigious accolades. The year 1659 marks the year when the first grapes were pressed in the country for the making of wine.

Chosen by a panel of wine industry stalwarts, the 1659 Honorary Awarded is awarded to an individual who has played a pivotal role in the wine industry and who continues to build on its legacy.

In 1996, Back was voted as the second most influential person in the country's wine industry by South African magazine, Wine, as well as being named the John Platter Winemaker in the same year. In 2014, Back was presented with the International Lifetime Achievement Award at The International Wine Challenge (IWC), one of the most respected wine competitions in the world.

He has also been recognised for his work in South Africa with the introduction of Mediterranean grapes such as Viognier, Tempranillo, Tannat, Sangiovese and Petite Sirah into the wine industry market.