Mike Best is an English Master of Wine, working as a trade buyer, judge and educator. Mike works for Boutinot, one of the main UK wine importers. He is responsible for the portfolio for Spain, Portugal, USA, Lebanon, England, Greece, Hungary and Romania.

Mike is a native Yorkshireman and started his wine journey with Philippa Carr MW at ASDA supermarket in Leeds. Following this he worked for PLB for 5 years, working in account management with most of the major UK supermarkets. After a vintage in the Adelaide Hills with Kym Milne MW, Mike worked for the WSET for 5 years, helping to set up wine schools and work with the programme provider network. During this time Mike completed stage 1 and 2 of the MW programme.

In 2019 Mike joined Boutinot to work with the independent’s team. In 2020 he became an MW, completing his research paper on cellar door tourism in the UK. In 2022 Mike took on buying responsibility at Boutinot and travels regularly to Europe and the USA. He is actively involved with Henners, an English winery owned by Boutinot and has a good knowledge of the English and Welsh wine scene.

On top of his Boutinot responsibilities, Mike is a wine judge at competitions such as Decanter, IWC and the London wine competition. He also teaches WSET diploma when time allows. Mike is responsible for the stage 1 MW seminar in Europe, which is always an important and intense week in Austria at the Weinakademie in Rust.

He also co-hosts a podcast "One bottle three questions" which can be found on all podcast platforms.

Current employer: Boutinot

Primary area(s) of work: Trade

Industry sector(s): Agency/Importer, Buying, Educator, Sales, Wine judge

Wine styles: English sparkling wines, Still red, Still rosé, Still white, Still wines

Wine region expertise: England, Germany, Lebanon, Portugal, Ribera del Duero, Rioja, Spain, UK, Valencia

Market expertise: United Kingdom

Specialisms: Blending, Distribution, Education, HORECA, Identifying and meeting consumer demand, Importation, Independent retail, Marketing wine, Podcasts, Supplier/customer relationships, Supermarket and multiple retail, Training, Wine labels, Wine tourism, Wine judging