Sarah Driver, co-founder of Rathfinny Wine Estate - Ep2
Together with her husband Mark, Sarah Driver established Rathfinny Wine Estate in Alfriston, on the Sussex South Downs in 2010, initially planting 60,000 vines. A decade later and the estate now has over 380,000 vines, a RIBA-nominated winery, an award-winning restaurant, stunning accommodation in the Flint Barns and is well on its way to being one of, if not the, largest vineyard in England. Mark and Sarah are also behind the campaign for Sussex wines to be the first in England to have a PDO and in 2018 produced the first official Sussex Sparkling.We talk about: How a UCAS application form became the catalyst for Mark and Sarah's English wine journeyTheir vision to share Rathfinny with the wider community and building a local workforceSussex as a mark of quality in sparkling wineThe affect lockdown has had on the vineyard as a businessRathfinny Wine Estate will be re-opening for alfresco dining on April 24th and will launch its latest sparkling wines from the 2017 vintage (a Classic Cuvée and Blanc de Blancs) in May. To keep up to date with events and happenings at the estate, follow @Rathfinnyestate on Instagram. Thank you for listening to today's episode of The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review and to hear future episodes as they are released, hit subscribe on your podcast listening platform.To find out who's joining me next week, follow @thesouthernquarter on Instagram and for more regular English wine news, visit thesouthernuarter.co.uk and sign up to my newsletter. Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.