Mr Driver is hoping to emulate other award-winning English wine producers who have taken root in the chalky soils of the South Downs

January 05, 2011

LONDON: A year ago Mark Driver was managing a $US6 billion hedge fund. He followed global markets from 8am to 10pm, trading equities, bonds and commodities.
But now the 46 year-old is giving up the rat race to live his dream by planting a vineyard in East Sussex.
Mr Driver has enrolled in a course in viticulture, bought 240 hectares of arable land near Eastbourne, East Sussex, for which he paid about £15,000 ($22,800) a hectare, and has ordered 72,000 vines from Germany.
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He has hired a top winemaker from New Zealand to manage the vineyard that he hopes will eventually produce a million bottles of fine sparkling wine a year.
”I know it will be a lot of hard work,” he said. ”It’s a total life change. I know nothing about wine. I’ve just drunk a lot of it. But I have an opportunity to do something totally different with my life and I’m grasping it.”
Mr Driver is hoping to emulate other award-winning English wine producers who have taken root in the chalky soils of the South Downs.
The father of four, from Twickenham, west London, will be following a path taken by other bankers and leading businessmen who have invested in English vineyards.
They include Jon Moulton, a private-equity tycoon who has produced a series of wines – including one called Recession Red, with Gordon Brown’s face on the label – at his Kent vineyard, and Paul Langham, who has created a vineyard near Stonehenge. He gave up his job as a strategist for US multinational companies 10 years ago to become a winemaker and produces up to 12,000 bottles of red, white, rose´ and sparkling wine a year. ”Never put all your eggs in one basket,” is his advice.
But despite such ventures, this country remains a tiny player on the world stage for wine. England has about 400 vineyards and produces about 3 million bottles a year, just 0.02 per cent of the world’s wine production.
However, British wine is growing in popularity, with its sparkling wines beating more illustrious French rivals to some of the biggest awards in international wine-making.
Last year the Classic Cuvee 2003, produced by another Sussex vineyard, Nyetimber, was chosen as the best bubbly on the planet in a blind taste test at the World Sparkling Wine Championships in Verona.
But Mr Driver admitted his venture was a big gamble. ”There is an adage that goes: ‘How do you make a small fortune? Take a large one and invest in a vineyard.’ But I like a challenge.”
”I’ve spent so long in the money market, looking at computers and tracking the markets and I realised over the past few years that I want to do something practical and enjoyable.” He added: ”I’ve only ever grown tomatoes in my greenhouse but this is something, I have always wanted to do.”
Mr Driver has appointed an up-and-coming winemaker, Cameron Roucher, who in 2008 was named the Hawkes Bay Young Viticulturist of the Year.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/an-english-fancy-sell-the-stocks-and-buy-vines-20110103-19dwc.html

Clark Wine Center is more than a wine shop to people living in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone. Clark’s wine shop is also a popular venue for parties and family gatherings. Conveniently located on the main highway of Clark Philippines, it is accessible to guests from Manila, Subic, Pampanga, Angeles City and of course those who live and work in Clark. Aside from the 2-storey wine shop which also has a nice roof deck lawn for small party of up to 80 people as well as an indoor wine tasting room which accommodates up to 60 comfortably, this wine store called Clark Wine Center also has one hectare of picnic grounds surrounding it.

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Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

For inquires and reservations, contact us here

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay