(Guardian) - Record demand for English brands is leading French growers to explore possible sites near the South Downs. Mike Roberts should be a happy man. His Ridgeview vineyard nestling at the foot of the South Downs is producing award-winning sparkling wines that regularly best the finest champagnes in international competitions. Business is booming. A new £330,000 degorging plant – which turns the fermenting grape juice into champagne-style sparkling wine – stands proudly in a cavernous warehouse surrounded by rows of 17-year-old chardonnay vines now coming into bud. And yet.