John Bergström and Karen wanted to build a business that would, ideally, become a legacy for their children in addition to paying tribute to John's agricultural Swedish background. Living in Portland at the time, they were all too aware of Oregon's burgeoning wine industry and so made the move to Dundee, Yamhill County, to establish a vineyard.
In 1999, John and son Josh officially founded their eponymous wine estate, with the vision of crafting some of the finest and most expressive chardonnay and pinot noir in the Pacific Northwest.
Josh, whose background covers business, law and winemaking, oversees the estate with his wife Caroline, and together they have built a formidable reputation not only for some of the state's most sought-after wines, but also one of its most active proponents of biodynamic and regenerative agricultural farming practices.
SUSTAINABILITY.
Since inception in 1999, the Bergström vineyards have been farmed without the use of herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, or synthetic chemicals. Composting and homeopathic herbal and mineral teas are favoured over synthetic fertilisers, and each year tonnes of compost piles are built with spent grape skins, seeds, stems and vine prunings, local and organic cow manure, local straw and grass, as well as curative herbs like chamomile, yarrow, valerian, dandelion and stinging nettle. This is all added back to the vineyard each spring to help build and promote soil structure, vitality, and water holding capacity.