Bergström, Cumberland Reserve, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2020

When John and Karen Bergström began Bergström Wines, they wanted to start a business that would become a legacy for their children and pay tribute to John’s agricultural Swedish upbringing. With these dreams in mind, the couple moved from Portland to Dundee, where they planted the Bergström Vineyard on a gentle, 13-acre, south-facing slope overlooking the wide expanses of the Willamette Valley. In 1999, Josh Bergström, the fourth of five children, returned home to Dundee from a postgraduate program in Viticulture and Enology in the Burgundy region of France. With him, he brought his fiancée Caroline, and the two were married that fall in the Bergström Vineyard. Bergström Wines was also born that year as the young couple harvested their first vintage of Pinot Noir from high-quality fruit purchased from a neighboring winery. Josh is currently the general manager and winemaker at Bergström Wines, and Caroline manages the sales team.

The family business traces its roots to their father John Bergström’s Swedish heritage and the love he developed for the Pacific Northwest. John grew up in a small agricultural and logging village in northern Sweden. As a young teenager, he set out by himself for Oregon, eager to follow the American dream of creating a life better than the one he knew as a child. Ultimately, he became a surgeon, created a successful medical practice, and raised five children in his new homeland. After many years, John decided to return to those agricultural roots and pursue his dream of wine growing, eventually founding Bergström Wines. Today, John and Karen Bergström are proud parents who have helped establish a flourishing business and who enjoy traveling the world, sharing Bergström Wines and its vision with fellow wine enthusiasts.