Bergström Wines

Dr. John Bergström was born in a remote logging village in northern Sweden, where his family farmed potatoes, tended animals, fished, hunted, and worked the frozen forests. He emigrated to the United States and built a career in Portland, Oregon as a surgeon in obstetrics and gynecology, raising five children with his wife Karen in their adopted homeland. After decades of medical practice, John pursued a longstanding dream of winegrowing and purchased a 13-acre hillside property in the Dundee Hills in the mid-1990s. That parcel would become the original Bergström Vineyard. The winery launched in 1999 as a partnership between John and his son Josh Bergström. Josh had completed undergraduate studies in French, business, business law, and the humanities before pursuing a postgraduate degree in viticulture and oenology at the CFPPA (Centre de Formation Professionnelle et de Promotion Agricole) in Beaune, the leading viticulture and oenology school in Burgundy. At the school he met Caroline, a Burgundy native who would become his wife. The couple returned to Oregon in 1999, married that fall in the Bergström Vineyard, and harvested the first Bergström vintage from purchased fruit at a neighboring winery. Josh serves as Proprietor and Winemaker. Caroline Bergström is co-Proprietor and Director of Sales. The broader Bergström family remains active in the estate, and the operation has stayed first-generation American family-owned for 25 years. Josh's stated ambition from the start was to make some of America's finest Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays, and Syrahs while moving progressively toward a fully estate-farmed model.

• Dr. John Bergström: born in a northern Swedish logging village, became a Portland obstetrics and gynecology surgeon, raised five children with wife Karen before pursuing winegrowing
• Josh Bergström: postgraduate viticulture and oenology degree from CFPPA in Beaune (Burgundy); met wife Caroline at the same school
• Founded 1999 in partnership between John and Josh; original Bergström Vineyard is a 13-acre Dundee Hills property purchased mid-1990s
• Josh Bergström is Proprietor and Winemaker; Caroline Bergström is co-Proprietor and Director of Sales; family-owned and operated continuously since founding

Bergström farms 70 acres of estate vineyards across five distinct sites in three Willamette sub-AVAs, all under biodynamic and regenerative management with zero conventional practices. The original Bergström Vineyard sits on a 13-acre hillside in the Dundee Hills AVA, planted on the volcanic Jory soils that define that appellation. The Winery Block is a second Dundee Hills site adjacent to the cellar facility. Le Pré du Col is a 16-acre property in the Ribbon Ridge AVA on Willakenzie marine sedimentary soils; Ribbon Ridge is Oregon's smallest AVA and one of the most prestigious for Pinot Noir. Silice Vineyard is located in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. Gregory Ranch is the estate's Yamhill-Carlton AVA holding. Farming has followed biodynamic and regenerative protocols since 2000, making Bergström one of Oregon's earliest committed biodynamic estates. Practices include biodynamic preparations, attention to lunar cycles, composting and cover-cropping for soil health, and elimination of synthetic herbicides and pesticides. Native-yeast fermentations are used throughout the cellar, and gravity flow is used in place of mechanical pumping to minimize handling. Chardonnay accounts for roughly 15 percent of total estate acreage. The multi-AVA, multi-site portfolio gives Bergström a broad palette of Willamette terroirs. Dundee Hills volcanic Jory soils produce the silky, red-fruited Pinot Noir character of the original Bergström Vineyard. Ribbon Ridge marine sediments yield the structured, savory Pinot Noir from Le Pré du Col. Chehalem Mountains parcels at Silice deliver darker-fruit concentration. Yamhill-Carlton sands and uplifted marine soils at Gregory Ranch contribute weight and texture. Beyond the estate, the winery also sources from Shea Vineyard in Yamhill-Carlton for a single-vineyard Pinot Noir bottling.

• 70 acres of biodynamic and regenerative estate vineyards (non-certified, zero conventional practices) across five sites in three Willamette AVAs
• Dundee Hills: Bergström Vineyard (13 acres, original home estate, volcanic Jory soils) and Winery Block
• Ribbon Ridge: Le Pré du Col (16 acres, Willakenzie marine sedimentary soils in Oregon's smallest AVA)
• Chehalem Mountains (Silice) and Yamhill-Carlton (Gregory Ranch); plus sourced fruit from Shea Vineyard in Yamhill-Carlton

Sigrid Chardonnay is Bergström's flagship white and one of Oregon's most recognized Chardonnay bottlings. The wine is named for Sigrid Bergström, the mother of founder John Bergström and grandmother of winemaker Josh. Sigrid raised John in the northern Swedish agricultural village where the family worked potatoes, livestock, fish, game, and timber. The Chardonnay was first produced in 2006 following her passing during that year's harvest. The family chose Chardonnay as the varietal to honor her, and the wine has been the estate's flagship white since. Sigrid is sourced from estate Chardonnay plantings. Fermentation is in French oak and the wine ages in barrel prior to bottling. The stylistic register draws on Burgundian Côte de Beaune reference points: a textural mid-palate, restrained oak handling, citrus and orchard fruit aromatics, and a long mineral finish. The second core Chardonnay is Old Stones Chardonnay, a Willamette Valley appellation bottling that draws from multiple estate vineyards including Bergström Vineyard, Winery Block, La Spirale, Silice, and Le Pré du Col. The blend pulls fruit from both marine sedimentary sand and sandstone bedrock and red volcanic soils on basalt, giving the wine a layered terroir signature. Fermentation is whole-cluster in a champagne-style gentle press, with élevage in new French oak barriques alongside large-format vessels including foudres, puncheons, and demi-muids. The wine ages on lees in barrel. Tasting notes commonly reference crushed oyster shell, lemon verbena, nectarine, flint, and citrus oils.

• Sigrid Chardonnay: flagship white named for Sigrid Bergström, mother of founder John Bergström and grandmother of winemaker Josh; first vintage 2006 after her passing during harvest
• Sigrid sourced from estate Chardonnay plantings; French oak fermentation and barrel aging; Côte de Beaune stylistic reference
• Old Stones Chardonnay: multi-vineyard Willamette Valley estate blend from Bergström Vineyard, Winery Block, La Spirale, Silice, and Le Pré du Col
• Old Stones spans marine sedimentary and red volcanic basalt soils; whole-cluster press, new French oak with foudres, puncheons, and demi-muids

Bergström's Pinot Noir program is built around single-vineyard expressions from the estate sites plus the multi-vineyard Cumberland Reserve. Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir is the most accessible entry point and is composed of barrels selected from the five estate-farmed vineyards across the three AVAs. The wine is intended as a complete picture of the estate vintage and is bottled in larger quantities than the single-vineyard wines. The single-vineyard Pinot Noir lineup includes Bergström Vineyard (Dundee Hills volcanic Jory soils, the original home site), Le Pré du Col (Ribbon Ridge marine sediments, sixteen-acre estate property), and Silice (Chehalem Mountains). Each bottling is fermented and aged to express its site signature: silky red fruit and floral lift from the Dundee Hills volcanic estate, structured savory character and forest-floor complexity from Le Pré du Col, and darker fruit and herbal notes from Silice. Bergström also produces a Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir from sourced fruit on the East Hill of Shea Vineyard in Yamhill-Carlton; the wine blends whole-cluster and destemmed fermentation and ages in French oak. Cellar practice follows the Burgundian template Josh absorbed in Beaune. Native-yeast fermentations are used across the lineup. Whole-cluster percentages are calibrated by vintage and site. French oak aging draws on coopers with strong Burgundy reputations, with new-oak percentages kept restrained to preserve fruit and site character. Gravity flow is used throughout to minimize mechanical handling. The estate also produces a small amount of Syrah from cooler estate parcels.

• Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir: multi-vineyard blend from barrels across the five estate sites; the most accessible entry to the Bergström house style
• Single-vineyard Pinot Noir: Bergström Vineyard (Dundee Hills Jory), Le Pré du Col (Ribbon Ridge marine sediments), Silice (Chehalem Mountains)
• Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir: sourced from the East Hill of Shea Vineyard in Yamhill-Carlton; whole-cluster and destemmed blend
• Burgundian cellar approach: native yeasts, calibrated whole-cluster percentages, restrained new-oak French barrel aging, gravity-flow handling throughout

Bergström has built one of the most consistent critical reputations in the Willamette Valley over more than two decades. Sigrid Chardonnay regularly receives strong scores from Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, James Suckling, and Decanter, and is widely cited in lists of leading Oregon Chardonnays. The single-vineyard Pinot Noir bottlings also receive consistent high marks, with Bergström Vineyard, Le Pré du Col, and Silice often appearing in critic recommendations. The estate has been named among Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wineries on multiple occasions. Josh Bergström is a member of the Académie Internationale du Vin, a recognition of his standing in the international fine-wine community. Over his career he has consulted for eight different Oregon wine labels and has worked with fruit from more than 125 vineyards across the region, giving him an unusually broad working knowledge of Willamette terroir. The Bergström label has remained focused on its own estate work while Josh's wider consulting practice contributes to Oregon's broader Pinot Noir and Chardonnay development. The estate's positioning combines several elements that distinguish it within the Willamette: continuous family ownership since founding, early commitment to biodynamic and regenerative farming, Burgundy-trained winemaking, and a Chardonnay program led by a single named flagship with deep family meaning. Bergström sits alongside producers like Beaux Frères, Domaine Serene, Cristom, Walter Scott, Evening Land, and Lingua Franca as part of the Willamette's prestige tier, with its own identity built on the family story and the Sigrid name.

• Sigrid Chardonnay consistently receives strong critic scores from Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, Suckling, and Decanter; estate named among Wine Spectator Top 100 Wineries on multiple occasions
• Single-vineyard Pinot Noir bottlings (Bergström Vineyard, Le Pré du Col, Silice) routinely highlighted in critic coverage and Oregon Pinot recommendations
• Josh Bergström is a member of the Académie Internationale du Vin; has consulted for eight Oregon labels and worked with fruit from over 125 regional vineyards
• Positioning: continuous family ownership since 1999, early commitment to biodynamic and regenerative farming, Beaune-trained winemaking, Sigrid Chardonnay flagship rooted in family story