MaRK DRIVER, a hedge fund manager turned wine producer, has good reason to hope that the South Downs will one day rival the Champagne region.  He believes that climate change will help British wine to compete with some of the best regions of the world, and he hopes to cash in.  Driver certainly knows how to turn a profit. assets at the Horseman Global fund at Horseman Capital rose from $14m to $5 billion when he ran it from 2000 to 2009.  In 2009, he decided to leave to establish a 600-acre vineyard, called Rathfinny Estate, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, with his wife. He says it will be the sunniest vineyard in England.  Driver has gone back to college to learn about making wine and is studying for a degree in wine production.  Now 46, he lives with his wife, Sarah, 47, and their children, Brook, 20, Millie, 18, Faye, 15, and archie, 12.  How much money do you have in your wallet? I take out about ?300 a week. after it's raided by my wife and teenagers and I pay for the cleaner, I don't have a lot left. What credit cards do you use? I use a John Lewis Partnership card for the points. I used to have an British airways american Express card but I could never spend the miles. Every time I wanted to go somewhere, there was never a flight available. I eventually cancelled the card.  are you a saver or a spender? Definitely a saver, although I go for funds rather than traditional saving accounts.  For 10 years I invested mainly in the Horseman Global fund, but more recently I've gone back to doing my own thing, picking individual stocks.  How much did you earn last year? I didn't make a lot because I stopped working for Horseman Capital full time. I still go in one day a month or so as a consultant, for which I'm paid a salary of ?60,000.  Have you ever been really hard up? When I started in the City in 1985, I lived in a bedsit in Brockley, southeast London, with my then-to-be-wife, Sarah. We got married and our wedding list was from the argos catalogue. Do you own a property? I own the house where I live in Twickenham, southwest London, and Rathfinny farm in East Sussex, which is about 60 miles away. It takes about an hour and 20 minutes to get there by car. We've got two houses on the farm. One is being redeveloped for us and the other is where the vineyard manager is going to live.  We've lived in Twickenham, on the same road, for 15 years. We moved to the latest property about three years ago. It's a six-bedroom, Victorian red-brick house.  How much did it cost to set up the farm? I bought 600 acres for ?6,000 an acre, so ?3.6m, but the total set-up cost is going to be double that.  I've ordered 72,000 vines at about ?1.70 each. Planting them will add another 40p each. That alone is more than ?150,000. We will make predominantly sparkling wine from classic varieties including pinot noir, pinot meunier, chardonnay and riesling.  We're also building a winery so we'll be making our own wine on the farm. We'll be employing people full-time and between 50 to 100 on a seasonal basis to pick grapes and to brew.  I'm very keen on trying to develop local talent. There are lots of people around the Sussex area who I think would love to work on a farm, particularly on a vineyard.  In the 1940s and 1950s, lots of people from London had working holidays where they would pick hops in Kent and Hampshire, but fewer people do it today.  How hard is it to produce wine in Britain? It's getting easier. Wine producers are benefiting from climate change. If you look at the weather data for Eastbourne, the average temperature has risen by about half a degree over the past 50 years.  It's just a marginal increase but it's enough to increase the ripeness within the grapes. I think the South Downs is the new Champagne.  Several English wine producers are now winning the top international awards for their sparkling wines. In September 2010, Ridgeview won the Decanter award. It is the first time it has gone to a producer outside France. Nyetimber and Camel Valley, other UK producers, have also been winning awards.  When will your business become profitable? We'll start producing wine by 2014 but will be fully up and running by 2016.  We're looking to sell in stores, off-licences and restaurants in England but I think that there's an export market we can get involved in too.  a bottle will cost me between ?10 and ?12 to produce, but quality English sparkling wine is selling for ?25 to ?26 a bottle today. What was your first job? I did a Saturday milk round when I was 13. I grew up in Pyrford, Surrey.  What has been your most lucrative work and did you use the money to buy anything special? One of the best investments I ever made was in a Chinese infrastructure company, which is now called Longgong - it is China's answer to Caterpillar.  I bought in 2005 when others were worried that China would try to curb growth to prevent its economy overheating. The valuation was just a steal. I bought a 20% stake. after about two years, it had increased in value tenfold. I sold just before the credit crunch.  I banked the money, but am now using it to set up the farm. Do you invest in shares? I've got a small portfolio, which I manage myself. It is mainly in high-yielding shares to supplement my salary. They tend to be large, stable businesses that produce 5%-8% yields. I like Vodafone, the mobile provider, and Catlin and amlin, the insurers, for example.  are you better off than your parents? almost definitely. My father was an NHS dentist and my mother was a very busy woman looking after a big family - I was one of seven children.  What's better - property or pension? I'd do neither at the moment. It's a very challenging investment outlook for the next 10 years. Property is expensive and yields are still low - they're half what they should be.  I do have various company pension plans but I don't invest anymore. I find pensions quite restrict