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When her youngest son left home, Sally Evans followed her dream of making wine in Bordeaux – and discovered new purpose, energy and excitement.
9 July 2026 | 7 minute read
Like a good wine, life can improve with age, acquiring depth and richness. If you want proof of that, look no further than Sally Evans, 64, who reinvented herself in the third quarter of her journey and went on to build her own winery in Bordeaux.Back in 2014, Evans was 52 and had already been living in France for around 20 years. A single mum with two sons, she’d stepped back from a busy corporate career to spend more time with her youngest before he left home. As he prepared to leave for university, Evans found herself at a crossroads. “My last anchor was leaving,” she says. “That’s a big thing in your 50s and 60s – these anchors drop away.”
Your third quarter is the chapter where your focus moves from striving to choosing – when you have the resources, the perspective and the experience to make the choices that matter to you.
Instead of returning to her old working life, Evans decided to do something she’d always meant to do: study wine. She’d called France home for years, but felt embarrassed that she didn’t know enough about wine to talk confidently about it around the table. So, in April 2014, she enrolled in her first course with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).What began as curiosity quickly became something more serious. The more Evans learned, the more she realised wine brought together everything that interested her: nature, science, history, culture, creativity, business and hospitality. At the same time, she started thinking hard about what she wanted from the next chapter of her life. She knew she wanted to create something for herself. She wanted independence, variety and the chance to “dance to my own tune,” as she puts it.
As she reflected on her life, she could see recurring threads running through it: food, hospitality, renovation, teaching and bringing people together. Wine seemed to sit at the centre of all of them. So, while she was studying for her WSET qualifications – progressing to level three (out of a total of four levels) in 2014 – she also began to think practically about whether a future in wine might actually be possible.By the autumn of that year, the idea had started to take hold. She decided to visit Bordeaux for the first time, reasoning that if she was going to explore winemaking seriously, she should do it in one of the world’s great wine regions. By March 2015, she had bought a small plot of vines and some dilapidated buildings there.She funded the purchase by cashing in shares and using savings, but from the beginning she was determined to keep the financial risk low. She bought just three hectares, along with a worker’s cottage and buildings that needed significant renovation. That modest scale was deliberate. Evans doesn’t think of herself as a risk-taker, despite what others might assume. She wanted a project that felt exciting and creative, not one that would keep her awake at 3 a.m. worrying about debt. “This was meant to be fun,” she says. “I always had a plan B for each stage.”That practical mindset shaped everything that followed. Rather than rushing in and trying to do too much at once, she built the project carefully, step by step. She gave herself room to learn, room to change her mind and room to work out whether the reality matched the dream. She wanted to make sure her next chapter was everything she hoped for.
For the next two years, Evans focused on studying, renovating the house and building a network in Bordeaux. She continued studying for the WSET diploma, the top WSET qualification in wine, and let the previous owner keep working the vines while she found her feet. That meant she could spend time understanding the region, meeting people and working out whether she really wanted to go further.By 2017, she realised that if she didn’t try to make wine herself, she’d regret it. A severe frost meant she couldn’t produce any wine that year, but the decision had been made: she was going to do it. She created her first vintage in 2018.
For the next two years, Sally focused on studying, renovating the house and building a network in Bordeaux. She continued studying for the WSET diploma, the top WSET qualification in wine, and let the previous owner keep working the vines while she found her feet. That meant she could spend time understanding the region, meeting people and working out whether she really wanted to go further.By 2017, she realised that if she didn’t try to make wine herself, she’d regret it. A severe frost meant she couldn’t produce any wine that year, but the decision had been made: she was going to do it. Her first vintage was created in 2018.
Evans knew she had strong transferable skills, but she was equally honest about what she didn’t know. She found two consultants with deep knowledge of Bordeaux’s soils, climate and winemaking, and built a team around them. That support was crucial in helping her move from enthusiastic student to serious producer.The results came quickly. Her first non-vintage wine, bottled in 2020, was given a high score by a well-known critic, and a UK importer came on board early. She also transformed an old tractor barn into a tasting room and wine tourism venue overlooking the vines, creating a relaxed, stylish space where guests can drink her wines, eat generous platters and hear the story directly from Evans herself. She’s also written a book to help others planning a change in their third quarter, called Make the Midlife Move: A Practical Guide to Flourish after 50.Evans says the winery has given her exactly what she was looking for: purpose, creativity, intellectual stimulation and the excitement of building something that’s entirely her own. More than that, it has changed the way she thinks about ageing. Rather than seeing later life as a time to wind down, she sees it as a period full of possibility. “I’ve got more energy now than I had even when I started this,” she says. “I’m really looking forward to the next chapter – doing a TEDx event in the U.S. based on my experiences and continuing to innovate with new wines.”
Evans’ winery is one path, but the principles she used apply to any mid-life reinvention. The transformation from corporate professional to winery owner took six years – long enough to master a new skill and build something entirely your own.
The question isn’t whether you have time. You likely do. The question is: what will you do with it?
If you’re standing at a crossroads like Evans was, wondering what your next chapter might look like, speak to one of our wealth managers. Whether you’re considering starting a business, exploring portfolio careers or aligning your planning with 30 more years of life, we can help make your ideas for the future financially viable.
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