Pink's in fashion these days. Champagne that is. And no one knows better than Richard Balfour-Lynn. He's the man who's beating the French on the champagne front with his Balfour Sparkling Rose, a wine that's performed exceptionally well in blind tastings. Made using the traditional Methode Champenoise techniques, grown in the right soil with the right climate, and conceived with passion and excitement, Balfour-Lynn's hobby is finding its way into the best restaurants and dining rooms in London and elsewhere. And this has happened since launching the first vintage in 2004. But the story starts in 1979 and continues in an auction room in Kent in 2001 from which the idea of vineyards emerge.

Hush Heath Manor is at the heart of Balfour-Lynn's 400 acre estate with vineyards, apple orchards, woodlands and fields. Set in rural Kent and built in 1503, the house looks perfectly situated. It's reached through winding country lanes with primroses spilling down high banks of grass. The setting is idyllic and the house was bought by Balfour-Lynn's father in 1979. When his father died he bought the family home, shared it with a friend for some years to spread the running costs, and finally he says, "I was able to take it over and then many years later, after I was married, we completely rebuilt it and added significantly to the gardens." Originally two cottages, Balfour-Lynn had a man working for two years on the front to completely restore it. Every one of the manor's 5,000 15th century tiles was restored. The gardens were extended with statue-lined terraces, a pool with a wooden deck to swim from in the summer, another to sit by and gaze across the vineyards, and a Japanese pool sparkling and glittering with all colours of Koi Carp.

Now Balfour-Lynn has the house, but not the land, which had been split up over centuries. It was a chance venture into that Kent auction room that changed it all. He says, "The first lot came up and at the eleventh hour I put my hand up, much to the shock of everybody. Because I bought that so cheaply I ended up buying it all." He'd always toyed with the idea of having a vineyard and when his wife said 'why don't you plant the vineyard here' the rest became history. If by now you're getting the picture of a man with passion and attention to detail you'd be right. And it's this high energy that he brings to his sparkling wine and Hush Heath apple juice.

Balfour-Lynn has fingers in many pies. You may have heard of him. He's chief executive and a major shareholder of Marylebone Warwick Balfour the property company. Add to that a long list of interests in companies such as Liberty's and the Hotel du Vin and Malmaison chain of hotels and you begin to get the picture. "My father's motto sits proudly on the wall of my office, which is, it can be done. The only thing that restricts you is you."

The land was perfect for the traditional champagne Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes. And in the spring of 2002 the vineyard was hand-planted – 5,000 vines on a south-facing slope.

Once he'd decided on the vineyard he contacted Stephen Skelton, 'master of wine'. "We walked the land. I said I want to plant a vineyard, what do I do?" When Skelton asked him, 'what do you want to grow' he knew it had to be pink sparkling wine and nothing else. The land was perfect for the traditional champagne Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes. And in the spring of 2002 the vineyard was hand-planted – 5,000 vines on a south-facing slope. A year later, following a very hot summer, they managed 'to pick enough grapes to fill about 1,000 bottles. "Not for sale," says Balfour-Lynn, "Because it was too young. It was on Christmas day, when all the family were around that we thought we'd try it. It was so exciting and, wow, it didn't taste bad."

From tasting 'not bad' Balfour-Lynn's 'champagne' in all but name, as only French wine is entitled to the label, has increased in popularity and yield. The 2006 vintage, which will be released sometime in 2009 will be around 22,500 bottles. Another seven acres of vines are due to be planted and the intention is 'to make up to 100,000 bottles a year' which will gradually grow over the next five years.

There are several factors that make Balfour Sparkling Rose special. It's only made by the traditional champagne method. Balfour-Lynn, Stephen Skelton and Owen Elias, winemaker at Chapel Down the winery close by where the grapes are pressed, work together to get just the right flavour. Balfour-Lynn explains, "I know exactly where my points of difference are. Yesterday, Owen and I were tasting endless different varieties of the 2005 with different levels of dosage – being the concentrated sugar you add at the end just before you put the cork in. Interestingly the wine changes dramatically month in month out, the whole time you're tasting. I'm looking for a young taste, a dry taste, very much the scent of blackberry, raspberry, appley almost. My vineyards are next to my apple orchards and there must be an influence. I'm looking for a very, very pale pink colour, an English rose colour. And that's very difficult because the colour changes throughout the process. I'm not trying to create an homogenous product. I actually like the idea of differences each season."

"I'm looking for a very, very pale pink colour, an English rose colour. And that's very difficult because the colour changes throughout the process."

Exclusivity is very much part of Balfour-Lynn's sparkling rose. He believes it comes from brand positioning. He says, "If you look at all my companies they're all brands in the upper echelons of the market sectors." He chose to position his sparkling rose in the same price bracket as champagne. "Everyone thought I was bonkers. I said if it's going to be the same as champagne then frankly that's where I want to price it." He bucked the trend at the time but his instinct was right. He recently had a wine making group from the French champagne region visit him to see what he does. Michel Laroche, renowned for his award winning Chablis, sells Balfour Rose in his French restaurants and 'makes great play of saying to other wine producers, where do you think this comes from'? Conran restaurants sell his wine as do noted chefs Richard Corrigan and Tom Aitkin. Balfour-Lynn tells the tale of recently eating with friends at The Greenhouse in Berkeley Square. He says, "I looked on the wine list and discovered my wine was there. I ended up paying £70 for my own bottle of wine. That was one of the least smart business moves I'd made, buying back my own wine." However, it's hard to imagine Balfour-Lynn as anything but smart.

When it comes to harvest time everyone is involved. Sales people from Bibendum, sommeliers and editors of wine magazines are all invited down to pick grapes. He says, "We have 40 people coming down and a big party in the evening and dinner. If you've actually harvested the grapes, been part of the harvest, seen the process and the beauty of the area it makes a connection." He admits that the 'spirit of the place' is a 'brand intangible'.

With vineyards and apple orchards stretching out across the horizon, Balfour-Lynn is truly master of all he surveys. "I dream of building a fabulous winery and spending time in it. And also making fabulous apple juice", he says. "As the sun was coming up this morning I was walking the dog across the fields and the apple orchards, chatting to people. I'm very lucky." Now that can't be too bad for a hobby.

For more information visit www.hushheath.co.uk