Doylestown Restaurant Wins 4th Wine Spectator Award

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — For the fourth year in a row, a Doylestown Borough upscale cocktail lounge and restaurant has won an international award for its curated wine list.

Frost Lounge and Restaurant at 46 East State Street has earned a 2026 Wine Spectator Restaurant Award for its wine offerings.

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Four years ago, and just months after opening its doors, Frost became the first-ever Doylestown restaurant to win the prestigious recognition.

"Four years ago we set out to bring something special to this town that had never been seen before," said owner Uri Abrams. "Winning the first time made history. Winning four years in a row tells you there's room and appreciation for a world-class wine program in this community.

"It's a major award," adds Abrams. "You are recognized as one out of 3,500 in the world, not in Bucks County, not in PA, not in the U.S. But in the world."

On top of that, for the past three years Frost has won the OpenTable Diner's Choice Award, an award determined by the customers who use the online reservation service.

"While it's very exciting to be recognized by wine professionals, the OpenTable Award comes from everyday guests. The OpenTable Award is the ultimate validation," said Abrams.

The staff at Frost. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

When Frost first opened four years ago, it served only tapas and small plates. Three years ago, it expanded its food offerings to a full menu to capture the fine-dining crowd.

"Everyone with their BYOB bottles would go to full dining restaurants and come back at 9 p.m. for music and nightcaps. So we added a full menu to capture that dinner crowd," he said.

On the wine side, Frost's sommelier Jenn McMahon-Drutz was again instrumental in developing the winning wine program.

"This is such an honor to be bestowed with this amazing award. I am absolutely thrilled. This is a big deal for us. It's a big accomplishment. And it's an honor to join a league of other restaurants who have gotten this."

It's also a relief, admits McMahon-Drutz, who is challenged with retaining the Wine Spectator Award each year by enhancing the restaurant's already extensive wine offerings.

This year's additions include a Pecorino, a grape varietal from Italy, which she describes as a bright, expressive white wine; a right bank predominately driven red wine blend, merlot; and a rare Madeira, a sweeter fortified wine that can stay open indefinitely.

All three wines are now being served at Frost by the glass and by the bottle.

Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence is given to restaurants offering well-curated lists with 90 selections or more. These lists feature quality producers and wines that diners wouldn't easily find at local wine stores and drink at home.

The wine selections also match the restaurant's cuisine in both style and pricing, giving guests a well-rounded experience.

This year, only 2,001 restaurants from around the world achieved the Award of Excellence, including four in Bucks County - Frost Lounge in Doylestown, Nektar in New Hope, Spinnerstown Hotel Restaurant & Tap Room in Quakertown, and Capital Grille in Newtown.

When she submitted Frost's wine list to this year's competition, McMahon-Drutz said she was hopeful. "But a lot of people put in for this award. A lot of people want to be considered. It's a worldwide award and anything could have happened."

Frost's wine list offers an eclectic mix of wines from around the world, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece and California.

"It's a very curated list," she said. "It's not a huge list. We don't have hundreds and hundreds of bottles. But it's really thoughtful. Making out a wine list is very intentional. It has to be part of a well-rounded, curated vision or it doesn't go."

Frost's small size and budgetary constraints make developing its list a lot more challenging, said Abrams, noting that the award is not broken down by size, so a small restaurant like Frost is competing on equal footing with the likes of Capital Grille in fulfilling the award's criteria, which requires a diverse representation of the wine regions of the world along with a variety of price points.

That makes the award that much more gratifying for the owners and employees at Frost who have worked to put the new upscale lounge and private club on the map.

"I want our customers to know that they will always have a good experience here with Jenn being table-side," said Abrams. "She will listen to their interests, to their needs, their desires, and we will always have a wine to fit their budget, every palate, every interest always. They will always leave here with an enjoyable wine experience."