Port Calls Mark Driver

Today we catch up with Mark Driver, who with his wife Sarah, bought Rathfinny Farm in 2010 with the express intension of planting a vineyard and making Sussex sparkling wine. Their first sparkling wines were launched in 2018 and are now poured in some of the top bars, restaurants and hotels (including Port) across the UK and overseas.

Over to Mark to tell us more…

What lead you to setting up the Rathfinny Wine Estate in the South Downs?

We found a perfect site, with ideal chalky soil, a great micro-climate and south facing slope. It was the ideal site to plant vines for sparkling wine.

Chalky soils are the holy grail for producing sparkling wine grapes because they produce that lovely minerality in the wine. Being so close to the coast helps mitigate frost risk and the climate is just that little bit warmer and sunnier that other parts of the UK.

Tell us more about the beauty of English, in particular Sussex, wines?

It’s all about the quality of the fruit showing through in the wine. Global warming is affecting wine growing regions around the world, pushing up alcohol levels in wines and forcing grape growers to pick grapes earlier and earlier. At Rathfinny, we are able to produce grapes with the ideal ripeness, acidity and sugar levels for sparkling wines. I’d say that England is really at the sweet spot for sparkling wines in the world right now.

Can you tell us a bit about the process behind making wines at Rathfinny?

We pick our grapes late in October, pressing the juice off the grapes in our on-site winery. That juice is fermented into base wines, which we selectively blend into our four cuvées or blends, that include: Blanc de Blancs (a white wine made from Chardonnay), Blanc de Noirs (a white wine made from red grapes predominately Pinot Noir), Rosé and our lovely Classic Cuvée.

You take a very sustainable approach, ever mindful of the environment. What initiatives do you have in place?

We made all our buildings using locally sourced materials, like Flint and Oak sourced from within Sussex. We use solar panels to produce much of the electricity used within our winery and we recycle and treat all our own waste water. We are aiming to be B-Corp certified over the next 8-10 months.

Do you have a favourite time of year on the estate?

I love the Spring time – after the vines have been hand pruned over the Winter months and they are laying neatly tied to the wires and all the little buds start appearing, and the season starts again.

Do you have a particular much-loved spot(s) that you can share with our guests?

I love the way that the vineyard throws patterns across the landscape and the best place to view that from is on the Rathfinny Trail above the Flint Barns near Camp Hill.

However, if you want to view Sussex in all its glory then follow the South Downs Way East out of Alfriston and head to Wilmington Hill, just above the Long Man of Wilmington.

What do you love about the Sussex coast and countryside?

The people, the scenery, arts and culture, the climate and of course our lovely wines.

Thanks Mark for joining us on Port Calls.