Bertil Jean-Chronberg

The mysterious man behind the Beehive's bottles

By TYLER BALLIET

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It is no secret that the subterranean, industrial gallery-like space of the Beehive [541 Tremont St., South End, Boston. 617.423.0069. beehiveboston.com] is awash with the unique jazzy sounds of live local musicians seven nights of the week. Innovative photos and paintings may grace the walls, but what many people don't realize is that the wine cellar is stocked with a different form of creative expression. Bertil Jean-Chronberg, general manager and wine director, maintains a selection of vino—a curated assortment he refers to as ""art"—designed to gently nudge people out of their comfort zone of California Cabernet or Italian Pinot Grigio.

His hip glasses, distinctive accent and intense-yet-casual conversation style screams French National. Born on a vineyard in Southwest France's Madiran region, Jean-Chronberg has fermented grape juice flowing through his veins. His formative years were spent sampling the world's finest wines, which eventually led him to a career in hospitality. In 1996, after being egged on by friends, Jean-Chronberg competed in the Sommelier World Contest and, after a "five-day nightmare," he found himself in third place. Jean-Chronberg eventually made his way to Boston to help start the Beehive.

The Beehive's wine list is meant to accompany the music, art and food of the establishment. Jean-Chronberg's first order of business is to popularize a style of wine everyone knows, but rarely drinks, in Boston. "Sparkling needs to be seen and enjoyed as a wine," Jean-Chronberg states. His list of 27 sparklers starts in the low $30s and scales into the hundreds, making him the largest buyer of Champagne and sparkling wine in the city. Since his goal is to make the stuff accessible, the value is high and the markup is minimal.

The sparkling wines are very impressive, but what truly draws us to the Beehive is the eclectic still wine list. Jean-Chronberg has all of the elements of a standard list: 10 reds and 10 whites with familiar grapes like Cabernet, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc gracing the menu. After a closer look, however, you realize this isn't your typical list. "We need to be extremely curious," Jean-Chronberg insists, and this is why his wines are a bit unusual. His Chardonnay from Belle Pente ($48) is from Oregon, not California, and his Sauvignon Blanc hails the little known winery of Bodegas Carrau in Uruguay ($36).

By placing the Lebanese Chateau Kefraya ($49) right next to the Israeli Galil Mountain "Yiron" ($53) on the menu, he renders his own version of art-as-politics. Jean-Chronberg also peppers in selections only super wine dorks would recognize, like the Oremus Mandolás from Hungary ($42) (a dry Tokaji instead of the traditional sweet), the Cambiata Tannat from California ($65) and the Kourtakis "Retsina Kourtaki" made from Savatiano grapes in Greece ($29). Trust us, these are all pretty weird.

"French, Spanish and Italian are boring," Jean-Chronberg declares. If you're going to branch out and try something different, this is the place.

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