​Doylestown Restaurant Recognized With International Wine Award

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

A year and five months after opening at 46 East State Street, Frost Lounge has earned not one, but two Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence for its wine offerings, specifically for its French varietals.

Last year, Frost became the first-ever Doylestown restaurant to win the prestigious honor, which is awarded annually by Wine Spectator to the world's best restaurants for wine.

This year, 3,700 establishments worldwide won recognition from Wine Spectator, including 2,150 restaurants that achieved the Award of Excellence for their thoughtfully chosen lists, according to the magazine.

Generally, these lists average around 100 selections but can be much larger. "They offer diners quality and diverse selections that are in line with the restaurant’s cuisine and price point," says Wine Spectator. "Each wine is listed with all pertinent information and clear presentation."

“We are thrilled,” said Frost owner Uri Abrams, who opened Frost in early 2023 as a private club and a New York-style martini lounge and restaurant. “It’s a major award and to win it twice is amazing. You are recognized as one out of 3,700 in the world, not in Bucks County, not in Pennsylvania, not in the U.S., but in the world.”

Added Frost’s sommelier, Jenn McMahon-Drutz, who developed the wine list, “Doylestown has been here for a long time so to be not only the first restaurant here to win but to do it again, is incredible.

"I am ecstatic," she added, admitting she was nervous while awaiting this year's results. "I wasn't that nervous last year because I wasn't holding anything up. Now moving on, this is a heavier burden. But this is a big deal for us. It’s a major, major accomplishment.”

McMahon-Drutz joined Frost as a sommelier last year after leaving Del Frisco’s Steakhouse in Philadelphia. Since then, she has built a wine program at Frost that has been noticed by the folks at Wine Spectator not once, but twice.

The program has also been noticed and appreciated by the Frost patrons.

"I have enjoyed working with our guests. Their open minds to try whatever I think will go best has been absolutely delightful for me," said McMahon-Drutz.

In preparation for a major menu expansion at Frost coming this summer, including the addition of full fares, McMahon-Drutz revealed some exciting changes to the wine menu.

"We'll be moving on from some of the old favs. We will be highlighting a new Cabernet by the glass. I will also be highlighting a high-end Cabernet that I'll be doing through Coravin selection," she revealed.

Coravin selection is the process of extracting wine from a bottle with a surgical-grade needle that's inserted through the cork. The process keeps the wine inside as fresh as the day it was bottled, but allows wine connoisseurs to taste what's inside.

"We will also be adding some first and second-growth Bordeauxs to the menu that we didn't have before," added McMahon-Drutz

"My goal is for you to have an amazing experience whether you want to splurge on a first-growth Bordeaux or you don't because there's room for that too," she said. "There's something for everyone and that's an important message for me about our wine program. Yes, while we're bringing in higher-end wines, and that will be reflected on the menu, we're also bringing in wines that don't alienate anyone."

Abrams gives much of the credit for the international wine recognition to McMahon-Drutz and for creating an exciting wine program at Frost. "She's a wealth of experience and knowledge and she's been a great mentor and a guide to the establishment. Credit goes to Jenn," said Abrams.

The Award of Excellence is given to restaurants offering well-curated lists with approximately 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.

Some of the wines on Frost's curated list. (Photo by Jeff Werner)

This year, only 2,001 restaurants from around the world achieved the Award of Excellence, including three from Bucks County - Frost Lounge in Doylestown and Ferry & Main at the Logan Inn and Nektar, both in New Hope.

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 at various price points from around the world, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, and California.

“One of our goals when we opened Frost was that a good wine experience doesn’t have to break the bank,” said Abrams. “Yes, we have those big names that will cost many hundreds of dollars, but that’s not what we focus on. We operate in the reasonable budgetary medium and try and provide our guests an enjoyable wine experience.”

Frost’s small size and budgetary constraints made 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.

"It’s exciting for us. I hope that it will solidify in Doylestown our commitment to bringing great wine to this region," said McMahon-Drutz.

Abrams adds, “I want our customers to know that they will always have a good experience here with Jenn being table-side. 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.”

McMahon-Drutz expressed thanks to the community for being "so accepting. My wine ideas aren't always the same as other people's. I want you to have a great time, but I want you to have that great time trying something a little different, that you never heard of and can't get anywhere else," she said.

"I'd also like to let them know that the changes that are coming are super exciting for us. I can't wait to roll out this new menu. And we'll have new wines to taste, which is always exciting."