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History
It's an incredible realization of the American dream.
John Bergström grew up in a small agricultural community in Northern Sweden where logging was one of the few available professions. At the age of 12, he took out his first loan for an axe and a saw. An immigration sponsorship from his Portland-based aunt and uncle provided him the opportunity to pursue a better life. Seventeen-year-old John boarded a steamship in Norway and journeyed to Oregon, eager to follow the American dream. He enthusiastically pursued a high school and university education, and he used those opportunities to build a successful medical career alongside his wife, Karen Bergström.
In 1996, the Bergströms purchased 13 acres of land in the Dundee Hills as they sought to create a new business that would become a legacy for their children, and one that would pay tribute to John’s agricultural upbringing. In 1999, John’s son, Josh, returned from a postgraduate program in Viticulture and Enology in Beaune to join his father and to establish Bergström Wines. Today, Josh and Caroline, his wife and business partner, are celebrating 24 years as biodynamic growers of monopole estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards on the finest appellations within Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
Farming Philosophy
“We believe that singular fine wines should speak volumes of regional expression through natural, healthy, and non-industrial practices. We steward our vineyards, gardens, beehives and farms using homeopathic and regenerative ecological practices. These efforts guarantee that every bottle of Bergström Wines is full of vitality and life-giving energy.”
– Josh Bergström, Winemaker, Owner
Bergström Wines motto is that every one of their bottles is made with 1,000 days of effort. Farming, fermenting and finishing wine takes time, patience and precision. With over 24 years’ experience, the dedication to detail and relentless pursuit of quality is evident in every bottle of Bergström Wines.
Region
Oregon’s Willamette Valley is the premiere cool climate growing region for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Northern America. Situated above the 45th parallel, it’s one of the coolest winegrowing regions in the world, alongside the Mosel Valley of Germany and France’s Champagne region, as classified by University of California at Davis. The region is on Oregon’s Western edge, is 100 miles long and 50 miles wide, and represents over 3 million acres of prime agricultural zone best known for wine grapes, hazelnuts, Christmas trees, fruit orchards, cane berries and more than 200 other crops. Mountain ranges to the west and the east protect this fertile area from the Pacific Ocean’s maritime influence and Eastern Oregon’s severe seasonal heat and cold.
The appellation holds a diverse set of soils, which were crafted by mother nature over 60 million years ago – seismic uplift, dramatic volcanic lava flows and the cataclysmic ice flows at the end of the last ice age. There are nine sub-appellations in the Willamette Valley, three of which hold Bergström Wines estate vineyards: Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills and Ribbon Ridge. The region enjoys some of the longest summertime daylight hours and a nearly 45-degree diurnal swing of temperatures, which creates the perfect formula for high natural acidity, bright fresh fruit flavors and low potential alcohols with the perfect amount of physiological ripeness.
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