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"Bergstrom Winery:
Intensely-farmed vineyards =
big wine for young winemaker"

By Christina Kelly
Avalon Staff Writer

NEWBERG-Josh Bergstrom hovers over his plot of vineyards and meticulously prunes the vines like a bonsai grower.

One of Oregon's newest winemakers, Bergstrom learned earlier on, from studies in France, that intense farming of grape crops produces the best wine. And Bergstrom's wines are lovely and intense with plenty of fruit flavors lingering in the mouth.

The wines are surprising for such a youthful winemaker. At 27, Bergstrom is one of the youngest winemakers in Oregon, a fact that usually produces a grin on his face and a slight shrug of the shoulders. Bergstrom learned his craft well, and continues to learn from such winemakers as Lynn Penner-Ash, Dick Ponzi, Eric Hamnacher and Mike Etzel from Beaux Freres.

"We know exactly what's going on in our vineyards," said Bergstrom, who works the fields with his assistant, Anthony Filiberti. "We're farming all the time and in the vineyard all year long.

"It's in the vineyard where we make our wines."

The Bergstrom family moved out to Dundee from Portland in 1997, with the idea of producing wine from 15 acres in the Red Hills on Worden Hill Road. Bergstrom's father, a Portland surgeon, and sister, a real estate agent, became Bergstrom's financial partners in the venture.

Bergstrom studied wine growers in the area before purchasing fruit to make his first wine in 1999. He and Filiberti sourced grapes from Archery Summit, Wahle Vineyards and Highland Vineyards.

"We were blessed to work with such vineyard managers," said Filiberti. "It is nice to sit down and have a good relationship with the growers and managers."

The two winemakers estimate they make at least 25 trips through each vineyard every year, positioning leaves for maximum ripening, color and tannin development. Certain rows of grape vines are dedicated to Bergstrom, and the two winemakers watch over the crops like a mother bear with cubs. The same goes for the estate crops on the Bergstrom land.

As crop managers, Bergstrom and Filiberti do not use any herbicides or insecticides in the field.

"We look forward to using biodynamic practices in our vineyards, which include more composting and working with different natural preparations of plant and rock matter to help feed our soils," said Bergstrom.

Limited Production

The Bergstrom 2000 Pinot Gris, a hugely successful wine, is no longer available. The 2001 Pinot Gris will make its public debut at the Bergstrom Winery open house on Memorial Day.

The 2000 Chardonnay comes from 30-year-old vines with sandy soils and low yields. The wine first exhibited pear, apple and pineapple and originally had a green hue for about eight months. Now, the wine is showing honey, vanilla and a little spice. With a 14 percent alcohol content, this is a big, beautiful wine.

"We rely on the purity of our fruit and let it speak for itself," Bergstrom said.

Bergstrom's 2000 Pinot Noir has a wonderful smoky flavor. It is still a little tight in the bottle, but a few more months will give it time to expand into a dazzling wine. The fruit is rich, with plenty of spice. (Bergstrom's 1999 Pinot Noir received 91 points from Wine Spectator).

The 2000 Arcus Vineyard Pinot Noir is, by far, Bergstrom's most structured wine, with a alcohol content of 14.5 percent. This wine has big, beefy tannins and is a great candidate for aging. In a few years, this wine will rival any Pinot Noir out on the market. It just needs a little time, but it has the staying power to cellar very well.

Bergstrom says the 2001 crop was a struggle to get color. He believes the wines made from 2001 grapes will "show who is farming correctly."

"There is a huge amount of wine made from 2001," Bergstrom said. "But when you taste the wine, you'll know who is true to their vineyard."

The wine produced in 1999 was very good, Bergstrom said. The crop from 2000 is tannic and should age well. The 2001 vintage will be somewhere in between '99 and '00.

Because of limited production, Bergstrom's wines are hard to find. The winery is built to produce about 5,000 cases, but is currently producing around 2,000 cases. Since he is picky about his crops, Bergstrom is also picky about who sells his wines.

"We only sell to places that hand sell our wines," Bergstrom said. "We have a handful of dedicated retailers that know the industry well."

One of the few places to sell Bergstrom is Avalon. But supplies are very limited, and the wines will go quickly.

A Bergstrom wine in the cellar is a great treasure to open a few years later. Since Bergstrom is finding his stride at such a young age, it can only bode well for those of us who get to taste his progress over the years.

15 Acres in the Red Hills
Our story began in 1997, when our family moved out to Dundee from Portland and purchased 15 acres of land in the Red Hills on Worden Hill Road. The land had previously been farmed to black walnuts and hazelnuts, but all farming had long since been abandoned.

We had winegrowing in mind as we prepared the earth for two years, sowing and plowing crops that would improve the organic matter and mineral content of the soil.

Winemaker Josh Bergström Studies in Beaune
During this time Josh Bergström, our winemaker and vineyard manager, was interning in local wineries as a cellar worker and harvest hand. He traveled to Beaune Burgundy to do his post-graduate work in Enology (the study of wines and winemaking) and Viticulture (farming of winegrapes) in 1998 and 1999, and returned home in time to begin farming the newly planted Bergström vineyards.

For Josh, it's the day after day contact and work with his vines and wines that offer him the most education. Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris are a personal and localized thing, best learned from the vineyards they come from.

Josh did his post-graduate work in Enology (the study of wines and winemaking) and Viticulture (farming of winegrapes) in Beaune Burgundy. While in France Josh worked for the negociant Alex Gambal and the Dubois family in Chorey les Beaune. He also has trained with local winemakers Lynn Penner Ash at Rex Hill, Dick and Luisa Ponzi, and Eric Hamacher.

First Wines from 1999 Vintage
Our first wines were from the 1999 vintage. Josh made the wines at the Lemelson winery in Carlton. Our friends Eric and Jenny Lemelson were gracious hosts and we quickly grew close to the Lemelson team. In 2000, we moved our winemaking operation down South for one more successful year as a garage winery on the run.

New Winery Completed in Summer of 2001
In the summer of 2001, we completed construction on our new winemaking facility in the foothills of the Chehalem Mountain, adjacent to the Ribbon Ridge. Our new 5,000 case capacity winery overlooks breathtaking views of the Dundee Hills, the Ribbon Ridge, the Willamette Valley, and the de Lancellotti vineyard, which surrounds the winery.

Winemaking
Bergström believes winemaking begins in the vineyard ... from the first push of a vine’s buds ... to the countless times we pass through the vine rows, positioning leaves to maximize ripening, color and tannin development, and character.

Every vintage presents us with new and different winegrowing conditions ... an abundant fruit set that needs to be thinned ... excessive shoot growth that needs to be controlled to let in more sunshine and air-flow ... sunburned berries that have to be removed berry by berry.

Sustainable Agriculture and Organic Farming
Bergström does not use any herbicides or insecticides in its vineyards.

We use:

+natural and elemental spray solutions to combat vine diseases like mildew and botrytis.

+natural and indigenous predatory insects to control spider mite and other noxious pests by leaving a healthy and diverse cover crop in our rows where these beneficial insects might live and breed.

+compost teas instead of fertilizers to feed young plants.

+foliar sprays of kelp and fish emulsions and mineral elements to help maintain the health and vitality of our plants during the dry summer months.

We look forward to using biodynamic practices in our vineyards, which include more composting and working with different natural preparations of plant and rock matter to help feed our soils.

Limited Production
Bergström is dedicated to producing only as much wine as we can successfully farm using sustainable agriculture and organic practices. We have made a conscious decision to stay within the production realm of 5,000 cases per year -- so we can assure our customers the best in every bottle, every year.

The winery's building and processing pad house state-of-the-art equipment. This equipment helps us select only the finest fruit to send to the destemmer or to the press for slow and gentle handling, maximizing our fruit potential in the fermentation vats and barrels.

Information reprinted with permission of the winery.

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