Paul Beveridge took a buyout from Heller and ploughed the money straight into the ground. The payoff will come with the next vintage. Ross Todd reports

When Paul Beveridge, a partner at Heller Ehrman, took a buyout from the firm in autumn 2007, there was no doubt where he would invest the proceeds. Beveridge is a Washington State winemaker who, until that time, bought fruit from vineyards across the state. The buyout helped him fulfil the dream of owning a place to grow his own grapes.