NO ONE likes to see a business close down, particularly somewhere like a golf club, where jobs, livelihoods and memories are at stake.

But businesses must be sustainable and if they cannot make a living then there is no sense in keeping on the life support if all they are doing is leaking money.

One peculiarly timely reason given for West Chiltington Golf Club’s closure is that the modern man no longer has time to spend at the golf club – despite attempts to make it more family friendly.

But from one gentlemanly indulgence to another, the space will be taken up by Nyetimber Vineyard – one of the biggest and acclaimed in the UK.

While both golf and sparkling wine might both have once been the preserve of the rich, bastions of elitism and snobbery, both have undergone something of a renaissance and opened themselves up in a bid to widen their appeal.

Yet as golf’s popularity wanes, the popularity of Sussex sparkling wine is on the rise.

The vineyard, already incredibly successful commercially with the most acreage in the UK, will take up the land. Though bosses have remained tight-lipped, the acquisition is set to place it far beyond its nearest rivals.

Not bad when you consider English wine was considered a bit of a joke not so long ago. In fact, the industry has been one of the great success stories in Sussex.

While manufacturing has all but vanished, food and drink, particularly of artisan produce, has come into its own.

More than just a bottle for a special occasion, the vineyards have created their own cottage tourism industry as wine buffs go on tours of many of the county’s 50-odd vineyards. So let’s raise a glass to Sussex sparkling.