A rarity in the world of wine experts hails from Missouri

Missourian Doug Frost has achieved the wine world’s equivalent to rock-star status by becoming both a Master Sommelier and passing the British-based Master of Wine exam. Either of these accomplishments is impressive on its own, but achieving both is a major feat – and rare: Only two Americans can lay claim to both titles. I have known Frost for over two decades and greatly value his friendship, but more importantly, I deeply respect his dedication to wine education locally, nationally and internationally. Frost writes regularly for the Kansas City Star as well as for publications from coast to coast. His two books, “On Wine: A Master Sommelier and Master of Wine Tells All” and “Uncorking Wine,” are widely considered textbooks for wine basics. Most of us have an epiphany moment when the whole wine thing becomes clear. Can you describe yours? My family didn’t drink wine, so I was really intrigued when my uncle let me pick a wine from his cellar for a holiday dinner. It was the 1968 Louis Martini Special Select Pinot Noir. He told me that was an elegant grape, that some people thought it was subtle and others thought it was boring. He’s a smart guy. What do you look for when judging a wine? With each and every wine, I have something slightly different that I am looking for, [like grape, region, style]. Aside from those special characteristics, my favorite wines seem compelling, flavorful, balanced and perhaps even distinct. You have been a great advocate for the Missouri wine industry for a long time and have directed our annual Missouri Wine Competition for many years. What part of the local industry first excited you? I think it was Norton that sort of turned me around. There were always good wines, but they didn’t really fit a pattern. I couldn’t make sense of it. And then Norton ... found its way, in a way that the grape just never had before. And any sane person would say, “Hey, everybody, pay attention to this!” Still – for a decade or more [now] – in every competition, some other [Missouri] grape is just as likely to be intriguing. There’re so many possibilities for what might happen here. When did you decide to take on the challenge of conducting the Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition? The Jefferson Cup was started in Virginia 2000, when a venerable resort, the Homestead, asked me to create a wine competition. Two years later, we were looking for a new home and the Missouri Grape and Wine Program rescued us. They’ve been a huge part of this event every year. That’s initially why I brought it here and why I kept it here. And the last two years, Angel Flight, [a nonprofit organization that offers free air transportation to those with medical needs], has created a benefit around the Jeff Cup. Matt Nevinger, the guy who handles the on-site organization for the competition, was working with them and dreamed the connection up; they earned something around $75,000 last year and $100,000 this year, net. That’s very cool. What do you think about wine publications rating wines on a 100-point system? Do you think wine competition results are more helpful to consumers? No names, please, but numbers are kind of tired. Scores aren’t always going to work; a lot of people don’t care about them. Competitions don’t really work either, except that in both sources, if you focus on the very best that each chooses, you will find some great and lovely wines. But if you buy sort of the second string of wines, you know, the 88-point to 94-point range ... you can get some real clunkers. It’s better to pay extra money and buy the best you can when you can, but to enjoy cheap drinking the rest of the time. What do you drink? I drink wine pretty much every night, unless I drink something else, usually beer, maybe a great glass of mezcal or whisky, maybe all of them. It would be great to start with a cocktail but that doesn’t happen often enough. Oh, and a lot of water. What is your next challenge? The next step is my work with Beverage Alcohol Resource, the spirits and cocktail school in NYC that I founded with bartending legend Dale DeGroff, restaurant maven Steve Olson, spirits and cocktail historian David Wondrich and the most important spirits writer, Paul Pacult. We have been in business now for a year and a half and it’s going great. I guess the simple answer is, I want to dissolve the false barriers that exist between differing alcohol categories. I guess I’m trying to create a unified field theory for alcohol and want to demand of myself that I’m educated in all areas.