Ingrid Best: The CEO Changing the Wine Industry One Bottle at a Time
April 9, 2025
3,002
By Janee Bolden
Freelance Writer
news article
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
✓ Link copied to clipboard!
Ingrid Best has spent the past two decades shaping the global wine and spirits industry, but her latest venture, IBest Wines, is personal. A bold leap of faith took her from the corporate boardrooms of Diageo, Moët Hennessy and Bacardi to the vineyards of Stellenbosch, South Africa, where she set out to create a brand that reflects her passion for wine, art and culture.
Now, barely a year after launching, IBest Wines is not only an award-winning label but has recently secured first-class distribution with American Airlines through Flagship® First – International placement.
“Starting IBest Wines was the biggest leap of faith I’ve ever taken,” Best told Newsweek. “After 20 years working at major wine and spirits companies, I had a deep understanding of the industry but also saw the gaps in representation. There weren’t enough Black and brown voices in ownership, particularly in wine.” Born in New York and raised in the Bay Area, Best grew up in a culturally rich neighborhood in San Francisco before moving to Oakland.
Ingrid Best positions IBest Wines as art, but says that “building a brand that is both premium and culturally relevant requires breaking down some long-standing barriers” in the industry. Ingrid Best positions IBest Wines as art, but says that “building a brand that is both premium and culturally relevant requires breaking down some long-standing barriers” in the industry. Jorge Meza
“Napa became my backyard,” Best recalled. “I did my first ‘crush camp’ harvest at a winery in Napa in 2012. My love for wine consumed me from that point on.”
Best started her career as an ambassador launching an ultra-premium rum for Diageo. She later shifted to a hybrid commercial and marketing role at the company at a time when it owned both a wine and spirits portfolio. “I launched brands like Bulleit bourbon, Don Julio 1942 and many more,” Best said.
Her work attracted the interest of LVMH, who recruited her to work across their wine and spirits portfolio, focusing on brands like Ruinart, Terrazas de los Andes, Dom Pérignon and Veuve Clicquot. Roles in marketing and brand management with Hennessy and then Belvedere followed before she was recruited by Bacardi to manage a high-profile joint venture.
The turning point for Best came during a life-changing trip to South Africa, where she was wowed by Stellenbosch wines.”I was blown away by the quality and heritage of South African wines, yet I didn’t see them being celebrated on a global scale,” Best said. “I knew this was my opportunity to bring something new to the industry. The decision to leave corporate life and build my own brand wasn’t easy, but it felt inevitable. I had spent decades helping build other people’s brands—now it was time to bet on myself.”
This realization led her to partner with Stellenbosch Vineyards and global vineyard owner AdVini to craft wines that would challenge perceptions and elevate South African wines on an international level. Launched in February 2024 with an intimate event at the Southern Guild Gallery in Cape Town, in its first year IBest Wines earned gold for both of its blends at the New York International Wine Competition. Best called it “a moment of validation not just for me, but for our entire team and for South African wines on a global stage.”
Best doesn’t just see wine as a drink—she sees it as an art form. This philosophy has driven IBest’s success in the luxury space, where the brand is often found at exhibitions and tastings that bring wine lovers and art enthusiasts together. Her brand also takes an unconventional approach to wine marketing, moving away from traditional retail models and instead focusing on direct-to-consumer sales, strategic partnerships and exclusive events.
“We’ve been innovative in the way we highlight the parallels between wine and art collecting—both require an understanding of history, craftsmanship and provenance,” Best said. “A great bottle of wine, like a great piece of art, tells a story and becomes more valuable as its legacy grows.
Best, center, with Keys, left, and Beatz at the VIP opening of the musicians’ ‘Giants’ exhibition, where IBest was the exclusive wine. Best, center, with Keys, left, and Beatz at the VIP opening of the musicians’ ‘Giants’ exhibition, where IBest was the exclusive wine. Shareif Ziyadat
“IBest Wines has taken me into rooms I never imagined—from private tastings with art collectors and cultural icons to being the exclusive wine at the VIP opening of Alicia Keys’ and Swizz Beatz’ ‘Giants’ exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum,” Best added. The event, held on February 7, 2024, attracted notables in both art and entertainment including Queen Latifah, Amy Sherald, Derrick Adams and Mickalene Thomas.
“Seeing our brand embraced by people who truly appreciate the craft and culture behind it and see the synergies between wine and art has been incredibly rewarding,” Best said.
First-Class Validation
The latest milestone for IBest Wines will see its White Blend featured from April in American Airlines’ prestigious Flagship® First – International program.
“Working with American Airlines is a testament to the innovation and growth we are driving within the wine industry,” Best said. “It’s an honor to bring our White Blend—a balanced combination of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc that showcases the exceptional Stellenbosch region of South Africa—to a global audience.”
IBest Wines’ alignment with American Airlines represents a major step forward in visibility and representation, placing Best’s brand in front of an international audience of luxury travelers and wine connoisseurs.
But “one of the biggest shifts for me has been thinking about wine beyond just the bottle—how it fits into culture, storytelling and experiences,” Best explained. “It tells a story about where it comes from, the people who made it and the culture that surrounds it.
“Just as collectors seek out works from emerging artists with long-term value, wine enthusiasts invest in bottles that appreciate over time, both in taste and financial worth. This perspective is something I’ve leaned into with IBest Wines—positioning our brand as not just a beverage but as a cultural artifact, something worth collecting and experiencing with intention.”
IBest Wines launched in February 2024 in Cape Town and went on to earn gold for both its blends later that year at the New York International Wine Competition. IBest Wines launched in February 2024 in Cape Town and went on to earn gold for both its blends later that year at the New York International Wine Competition. Mikayla Jean
Tackling Underrepresentation
Despite the success of IBest Wines, Best acknowledges that breaking into the wine industry as a Black female entrepreneur has not been easy. Only 0.1 percent of winemakers are Black, with Black women making up an even smaller number.
“One of the biggest challenges has been access—access to capital, distribution and the networks that traditionally drive success in the wine industry,” she said. “The reality is that women, especially Black and brown women, are underrepresented in wine ownership. That means we often have to work twice as hard to prove ourselves, even when the quality speaks for itself.” Another challenge? Shifting perceptions in an industry often steeped in tradition.
“The wine world, like art, can feel exclusive and traditional, so building a brand that is both premium and culturally relevant requires breaking down some long-standing barriers,” Best said.
However, rather than being discouraged by these obstacles, Best sees them as confirmation of why her brand needs to exist. “Every challenge reinforces why I started IBest Wines in the first place—because representation, ownership and new voices in this space matter.” Looking ahead, Best has new product innovations in the works, as well as collaborations with artists, and plans to expand the brand’s footprint in international markets including South Africa and Ghana, while also bringing IBest to France.
“We will continue to cultivate our relationship with Stellenbosch Vineyards and AdVini, opening us up to a world of opportunity for new products and innovations,” Best said.
As for her personal mission, she remains committed to mentorship and breaking barriers for women in the wine industry. In addition to taking on average 10 mentor calls a month with mentees around the world, Best actively works with a young woman who is based in South Africa through Femme It Forward’s mentorship program. Best says she is “right by her side coaching her,” as her mentee pursues her ambition to become a wine négociant, or specialist on the business side of winemaking and selling.
The way Best built and structured IBest Wines also highlights her commitment to inclusivity and empowerment. She assembled a founding team of six Black and brown businesswomen, who each hold equity in the business. This decision represents a pioneering step toward reshaping the industry’s demographics by directly putting more women of color in leadership roles.
“We are helping change the narrative, one bottle at a time,” Best said.
fairness meter
fairness meter
Newsweek is committed to journalism that’s factual and fair.
Hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter.
Newsweek is committed to journalism that’s factual and fair.
Hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter.
Click On Meter To Rate This Article
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
Um die besten Erfahrungen zu bieten, verwenden wir Technologien wie Cookies, um Geräteinformationen zu speichern und/oder darauf zuzugreifen. Wenn Sie diesen Technologien zustimmen, können wir Daten wie das Surfverhalten oder eindeutige IDs auf dieser Website verarbeiten. Die Nichteinwilligung oder der Widerruf der Einwilligung kann bestimmte Merkmale und Funktionen beeinträchtigen.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
