Jack of All Trades, Master of Two
Doug Frost is a Kansas City author who writes and lectures about wine, beer and spirits. In 1991 he passed the rigorous Master Sommelier examination and two years later became America 's eighth Master of Wine in the American Midwest. He was the second person in history to complete both exams and eight years later he is still one of only three people in the world to have achieved both these remarkable distinctions.
The two examinations test candidates' knowledge of wine and wine production, storage, and marketing as well as requiring the candidates to demonstrate their ability to describe, analyze and identify many blind, or unidentified, wines. The tests are intensely difficult and many of the brightest minds and palates in the wine industry are unable to complete the programs. And now, according to USA Today , "Frost likely knows as much as anyone in the world about how to make, market, serve and identify wines."
Mr. Frost's love of wine began many years ago as a waiter and wine steward, although he dates his first interest to a glass of Louis Martini 1968 Special Select Pinot Noir when he was fifteen years old. Frost was a fine wine wholesaler in the Kansas City area for fourteen years and, in that capacity, represented most of the best wineries and estates from America and the world.
His most recent book, On Wine, published by Rizzoli International, was released in the fall of 2001. The Washington Post calls it “fabulous, witty, engaging and wise… conveys more accumulated wine wisdom than most books 10 times as thick.”
His first book, Uncorking Wine, was released in the summer of 1996, and is still a staple for many restaurant and retail companies and their staff and management.
He has written about wine and spirits for many publications including New York Times Digital, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Underground Wine Journal, Practical Winery & Vineyard and is a columnist and contributing editor for Sante Magazine, as well as the beverage columnist for the Kansas City Star . He has written for many years for local and national journals; specializing in art, food and music as well as writing film reviews for Public Radio.
Frost is a featured speaker at the Master Sommelier and Master of Wine seminars, at many Wines from Spain events, at the annual Cheers Beverage Conference, at the Telluride Wine Festival, for the Marriott Sommelier Program and frequently lectures and consults for retailers, restaurants and wholesalers around the country. He is the program director for the Monterey Wine Festival, America's oldest continuous wine festival.
Frost judges for many wine competitions including the International Spirits Competition, the Sonoma Harvest Fair, the San Francisco Wine Competition, the San Diego Wine Competition, the Riverside International Wine Competition, the Dallas Morning New Wine Competition and is the director of the Jefferson Cup Invitational. He is also the director of America 's Best Wine Lists, a wine list competition sponsored by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
He is proud of the past two decades that he has spent educating the public and wine and hospitality professionals in the United States, both in his work and as a personal passion. In 1996, he was honored as a nominee for the James Beard Award as Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional; past recipients include Robert Mondavi, Marvin Shanken, Andre Tchelistcheff and Randall Graham.
His work history reflects a lifetime in restaurants, in hotels, managing in-house and off-site caterings and working in all levels of the wine, retail, restaurant and hospitality industries.
Mr. Frost lives with his wife and two children in Kansas City, where he spends his spare time listening to his massive punk rock and weird music collection.
